bad 1 of 6

adjective (1)

ˈbad How to pronounce bad (audio)
Definition of badnext
1
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard a bad first attempt at making meat loaf resulted in a soggy, inedible mess

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2
as in evil
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable stealing is just plain bad

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3
as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm sitting too close to the television is said to be bad for the eyes

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4
as in naughty
engaging in or marked by childish misbehavior the children were bad, so they didn't get dessert

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5
as in sad
feeling unhappiness hearing about the world's miseries always makes him feel bad

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6
as in defective
having a fault a bad video connection that is causing some picture loss

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7
as in rotten
having undergone organic breakdown I think the milk has turned bad

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8
as in unpleasant
not giving pleasure to the mind or senses the air in the damp basement had a very bad smell

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9
as in terrible
of low quality bad shoes that fell apart within a week

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10
as in poorly
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body I've been feeling bad all week with this cold

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11
as in null
having no legal or binding force all known claims on the property were dismissed by the court as bad

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12
as in malicious
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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bad

2 of 6

adverb (1)

as in badly
in an unsatisfactory way you didn't do too bad on the treadmill test

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bad

3 of 6

noun (1)

as in wrong
that which is morally unacceptable there's bad and good in people of every race and nationality

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ill

4 of 6

adjective (2)

ˈil How to pronounce ill (audio)
1
as in sick
affected with nausea she grew ill from the constant rocking motion of the boat

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2
as in dangerous
causing or capable of causing harm one of the ill effects of winter weather is the rapid spread of germs as people spend more time together indoors

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3
as in bad
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body since I'm ill, I guess that I'll just have to miss that dental appointment

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4
as in poor
falling short of a standard such ill behavior will not be tolerated

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5
as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come the abrupt breakdown of negotiations appears to be an ill omen for this ongoing hostage situation

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ill

5 of 6

adverb (2)

1
as in severely
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering in those days society treated debtors very ill, even going so far as to put them in prison

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2
as in no
certainly not you can ill afford to miss another day of work

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ill

6 of 6

noun (2)

1
as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning chicken pox and the other ills that were once a fixture of childhood

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2
as in badness
that which is morally unacceptable idealistic people who try to cure all of our society's ills

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3
as in misfortune
bad luck or an example of this the travelers merrily set off on their journey, scarcely imagining the ills that would befall them

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bad
Adjective
Think of it like setting off a firework inside of a long, narrow hallway (which, by the way, is a really bad idea). — Laura Kiniry, Popular Science, 16 July 2026 The county will continue to test the water daily starting Monday if the levels come back the same or worse. — Laura Horne, Charlotte Observer, 16 July 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
In times when the city's bad seems to overshadow the good, Daniels and others like him can be a guidepost for generations to come. — Sophia Tiedge, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025 While working together on The Unit, David Mamet once told you that good drama isn’t a choice between good and bad; good drama is the choice between two bads. — Max Gao, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
Among the 62 guests onboard, 18 reported being ill during the National Geographic Sea Bird’s July 10 voyage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 17 July 2026 Brenda Fricker, a Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner for My Left Foot who had a memorable role inHome Alone 2, has died after a period of ill health, according to her agent. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 17 July 2026
Adverb
As pathologists themselves fell ill or took time away to quarantine, already thin ranks were stretched even further. — Gregory McDonald, STAT, 13 July 2026 Ana Navarro believes that people shouldn’t speak ill of the dead. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 13 July 2026
Noun
But that also eradicates a crucial option - to mount a show trial and scapegoat him for all the ills of his rule, thus absolving others. — Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 Through humor, the master is about to expose humanity's ills. — Rance Collins, Entertainment Weekly, 28 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for bad
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bad
  1. unacceptable
  2. evil
  3. harmful
  4. naughty
  5. sad
  6. defective
  7. rotten
  8. unpleasant
Adjective
  • Critics say such plans are wholly unacceptable because light pollution from so many large, bright satellites would radically degrade views of the night sky.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 16 July 2026
  • For the union, this is unacceptable and yet another issue their members are facing.
    — Carmela Karcher, CBS News, 14 July 2026
Definition of unacceptable
Adjective
  • In addition to the Griffins’ evil-genius toddler son, MacFarlane will voice Bean, Stewie’s man-of-very-few-words classmate who was dropped on his head one too many times.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 22 July 2026
  • With the franchise’s trademark blend of extreme gore and dark humor, the Evil Dead backstory centers on the ancient Book of the Dead that unleashes supernatural evil forces and twists victims into sadistic, shape-shifting, near-invincible monsters.
    — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 21 July 2026
Definition of evil
Adjective
  • Your liver is responsible for breaking down toxins and filtering them out of the body, essentially detoxifying you from harmful substances and chemicals.
    — Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 22 July 2026
  • At our previous Yale CEO Caucus, over two-thirds of CEOs surveyed told us that Trump’s tariffs had been harmful to their own businesses, and 80% said that tariff costs had been passed on in part to consumers.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 22 July 2026
Definition of harmful
Adjective
  • When Martín is kidnapped by a monster, Cleo ventures into the jungle to rescue him, aided by an elderly witch and a naughty anteater.
    — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 9 July 2026
  • People would hang from windows, encouraging you to do naughty things, and my thumb has never been sorer from back-and-forth gestures.
    — Matthew MacConnell, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of naughty
Adjective
  • Nostalgic, proud and, yeah, a little sad too, that the decade-long journey of making Stranger Things has come to an end.
    — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 15 July 2026
  • In the comments, fans expressed conflicted feelings about the ride’s closure, with some excited for the new version and others sad to hear the original Kumba ride will soon be no more.
    — Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026
Definition of sad
Adjective
  • Eimers drove the two of us to the closest guardrail, which was also the closest defective guardrail.
    — Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • The initiative was likely constitutionally defective from the outset, even as initiative petitions circulated in all corners of the Commonwealth.
    — Robert Cordy, Boston Herald, 19 July 2026
Definition of defective
Adjective
  • The family trees here have a lot of branches and some of them are a bit rotten.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 16 July 2026
  • The place to really advance the argument that something is rotten with elections is in the states, where officials have actual authority over the ballots, the drop boxes, the voting machines—the building blocks of elections.
    — Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026
Definition of rotten
Adjective
  • While some may be looking for more reasons to eat cookies, many more are simply hesitating to eat salads and other fresh produce amid a multistate outbreak of cyclospora, known for that unpleasant symptom, among others.
    — Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
  • Principal owner John Middleton recently discussed the challenging decision to dismiss longtime manager Rob Thomson, admitting that terminating employees remains the most difficult and unpleasant aspect of his executive role, even after decades.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of unpleasant

Phrases Containing bad

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backyards
bad
bad blood
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Cite this Entry

“Bad.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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