1
as in poorly
in an unsatisfactory way
I'm afraid you performed quite badly in our last rehearsal
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terribly
to a great degree
blood donors are badly needed this time of year
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of badly
Questions about the singer’s connection to Hernandez’s grisly end have swirled since last summer, ever since her badly decomposed and dismembered body was found in the trunk of a Tesla linked to Burke.
—
James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Bass herself acknowledges that the city of Los Angeles is badly governed.
—Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026
Florida was never governed as badly as now, not even by the rural Democratic Pork Chop Gang that ran roughshod over the state until the late 1960s.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
The scandal badly damaged the reputation of a president who took office in 2018 on an anti-corruption ticket after a decade of government graft scandals under former leader Jacob Zuma.
—ABC News, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for badly
James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Bass herself acknowledges that the city of Los Angeles is badly governed.
—Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026
Florida was never governed as badly as now, not even by the rural Democratic Pork Chop Gang that ran roughshod over the state until the late 1960s.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
The scandal badly damaged the reputation of a president who took office in 2018 on an anti-corruption ticket after a decade of government graft scandals under former leader Jacob Zuma.
—ABC News, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for badly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badly
Adverb
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Through indefatigable research, Kara fixes poorly remembered facts and makes a decent case that the publicity galvanized the movement to abolish British slavery a half century later.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
-
Just avoid natural stone materials like marble, which can react poorly to many cleaning products.—
Ryan Brennan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 May 2026
Adverb
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Not terribly hard, as he’s shown before.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
10 May 2026
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Not so coincidentally, Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930, was from Kansas, so Isaacman’s answer to a senator from that state isn’t terribly unexpected.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
8 May 2026
Adverb
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In one of them, a spot attacking Harman, Checchi included a photo of the lieutenant governor — and not a bad-looking one at that.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
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In one of them, a spot attacking Harman, Checchi included a photo of the lieutenant governor — and not a bad-looking one at that.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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But even Black athletes whose athleticism gifted them an extremely exclusive express lane in life can tell you stories about growing up a minority in America, or tales their parents or grandparents have told.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2026
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The theory of quantum electrodynamics (QED) suggests that when light at extremely high intensities interacts with the vacuum, it can be converted into matter.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
14 May 2026
Adverb
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Your co-parent is managing treatment, uncertainty and the very real fear of how this will affect his relationship with his daughter.—
Jann Blackstone,
Boston Herald,
10 May 2026
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The hearts and minds of Braves players were on Bobby Cox on a sunny evening at Dodger Stadium before the middle game of a three-game series against the Dodgers — a game that meant very little, considering the news of the day.—
Chad Bishop,
AJC.com,
10 May 2026
Adverb
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Football clubs are filled with talented professionals who work incredibly hard.—
Shivaas Gulati,
Sportico.com,
12 May 2026
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While that sort of payday would be life-changing for the overwhelming majority of humans walking the planet, Reitan is the exception, thanks to his historic and incredibly lucrative family business.—
Mark Harris OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
11 May 2026
Adverb
-
Mauricio Dubón delivered the big blow on another Maton curveball that caught too much plate for a two-run homer.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
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These programs are technically separate from the refugee program, but they, too, have been disrupted.—
Annie Hylton,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Adverb
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Iran has repeatedly used internet shutdowns during periods of unrest, where access to the global internet is severely restricted or completely cut, making foreign websites and apps unreachable.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
10 May 2026
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Conducting a soil test will eliminate the guesswork when choosing the right type and amount of fertilizer for your trees, as using too much fertilizer or the incorrect type can severely damage them.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
10 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badly. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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