Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

poorly

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of poorly

temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body
  • She stayed home because she was feeling poorly.
Synonyms of poorly

ailing, bad, down, ill, indisposed, peaked, peaky, punk, run-down, sick, sickened, unhealthy, unsound, unwell
Words Related to poorly

lousy, sickish

nauseated, nauseous, qualmish, queasy (also queazy), squeamish

airsick, carsick, seasick

dizzy, light-headed, shaky, woozy

achy, feverish

diseased, disordered

decrepit, feeble, fragile, frail, infirm, invalid, sickly, weak, weakly

afflicted, troubled

challenged, debilitated, disabled, halt, incapacitated, lame

hypochondriac, hypochondriacal
Phrases Synonymous with poorly

out of sorts, under the weather
Near Antonyms of poorly

able-bodied, conditioned, fit, well-conditioned

cured

better, convalescing, improved, mending, recovering, recuperating, rehabilitated

hardy, hearty, lusty, robust, rugged, stalwart, strong, tough

blooming, bouncing, chipper, flourishing, flush, thriving
Antonyms of poorly

hale, healthful, healthy, sound, well, whole, wholesome

poorly

adverb

Synonyms and Antonyms of poorly

in an unsatisfactory way
  • He tends to perform poorly on standardized tests.
Synonyms of poorly

bad, badly, deficiently, inadequately, lousily, unacceptably, unsatisfactorily, wretchedly
Words Related to poorly

abysmally, atrociously, awfully, damnably, deplorably, detestably, disastrously, dreadfully, execrably, horrendously, horribly, horrifically, rottenly, terribly

intolerably, unbearably

inappropriately, incorrectly, indecently, reprehensibly, unsuitably, vulgarly

naughtily

egregiously, flagrantly, grossly

miserably, shoddily, sleazily, trashily, unspeakably

abominably, odiously, vilely

inferiorly, insufficiently, meagerly, meanly, niggardly, scantily, scantly, shabbily, skimpily, sparely, stingily
Near Antonyms of poorly

appropriately, congruously, correctly, decently, decorously, felicitously, fittingly, meetly, rightly, seemly, suitably

exactly, faithfully, ideally, precisely, respectably

gratifyingly, satisfyingly
Antonyms of poorly

acceptably, adequately, all right, fine, good, nicely, OK (or okay), palatably, passably, satisfactorily, so-so, tolerably, well

Learn More about poorly

  1. See words that rhyme with poorly Dictionary: Definition of poorly Spanish Central: Translation of poorly Nglish: Translation of poorly for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of poorly for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up poorly? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games