slang
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
with all of his tattoos and piercings, that skinhead looks like one really bad dude
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Recent Examples of bad
Adjective
Unfortunately, Masters of the Universe is part of this bad trend of old 1980s properties, which are getting revived now, that aren’t working at the box office post Tron Ares and Running Man.—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 7 June 2026 Ahead, an animal rescuer shares what to look for when determining if the baby squirrels are truly orphaned or injured and how to help without making the situation worse.—Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 7 June 2026
Adverb
The dialogue sometimes lapses from bad-funny to just bad.—Judy Berman, Time, 21 Jan. 2026 Pull leftovers that still need to be eaten to the front, along with any foods that are going to go bad soon.—Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Nov. 2025
Noun
Despite the obvious bad, there was undeniable good.—Mellissa Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023 Good drama is the choice between two bads.—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 23 Mar. 2023
Adjective
At least two dozen hikers have fallen ill along the trail near Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains of San Bernardino County over the last two weeks, according to the Victorville Daily Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, resulting in at least one air rescue.—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 29 May 2026 Voters rejected a state ballot proposal in 1998 to legalize the prescription of lethal medication to help terminally ill, competent, informed adults commit suicide in Michigan, with 71% voting against the initiative.—CBS News, 28 May 2026
Adverb
There was a small dog and a bird to care for, not to mention his mother’s house, which was ill-equipped for an unusual freeze.—Steven Rowley, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026 Earle watched helplessly as friends fell ill.—Christina Ray Stanton, Time, 2 June 2026
Noun
The expectations, the hope is so high for that prescription to be the salve for their ills.—Torie Bosch, STAT, 25 Apr. 2026 Even as professional coders are becoming increasingly enthusiastic about the power of AI coding tools, many end users still see them as a boogeyman to instantly blame for any and all observed ills in the tech industry.—ArsTechnica, 7 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bad
The third strand of anti-vaccine advocacy, that compelling vaccine use is unacceptable, is a philosophical claim, not one of fact.
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
There is, of course, Itaewon, which is historically more associated with foreigners and other outsiders, where all who are deemed unacceptable are accepted.
After the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto) snatches his parents, Adam is plucked out of Eternia and returns years later from the human world to assume his true identity as He-Man and save the planet.
—
Matt Minton,
Variety,
6 June 2026
Young Prince Adam of Eternia (Nicholas Galitzine) is sent to Earth to protect him from the evil and hilarious Skeletor (Jared Leto), who now rules Eternia.
In the layer of the upper atmosphere called the stratosphere, the gas creates a protective layer that shields Earthlings from harmful ultraviolet rays.
—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
8 June 2026
The data center near Quindaro doesn’t have the capacity to be as harmful as the center out west, and the impacts of having a data center in Quindaro wouldn’t equate to the same health risks as having a coal plant did, Gorman said.
—
Sofi Zeman
June 8,
Kansas City Star,
8 June 2026
The defect is specific to 2027 Kia Telluride and Kia Telluride Hybrid models, and no other Kia or Kia Telluride vehicles are equipped with the defective retractor.
—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
Dealers will inspect and repair the defective parts free of charge, according to the recall notice.
Toussaint, a Black British actor, also addressed unpleasant early backlash against his casting from internet trolls.
—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
4 June 2026
No, the most unpleasant part of descending into New York City's vast sewer system, according to former urban explorer Steve Duncan, was the cockroaches.