1
: in a bad manner
played badly
2
: to a great or intense degree
want something badly
Phrases
badly off for
British
: strongly in need of (something or someone)
It may seem pie in the sky in the current financial climate, but few could argue that for a city of its size and prestige, Edinburgh is badly off for large-scale sports facilities.—
The Evening News (Edinburgh)
The Evening News (Edinburgh)
: fairly or acceptably well
The economy is doing not badly and looks even better than it really is.—Tom Teepen
Tom Teepen
: to have an unfavorable or low opinion of (someone or something)
"You shouldn't think badly of the town because of this," said Brogan. "It is a good town."—Neil Gaiman
Neil GaimanSynonyms
Examples of badly in a Sentence
He played badly but I played even worse.
The failure reflects badly on the administration.
She wanted the job badly.
I'm badly in need of a vacation.
His fingers were badly frozen.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ukrainians are cheering the House vote, which will provide fresh supplies of artillery rounds and air defense missiles and also support the Ukrainian economy, which is badly suffering after more than two years of Russia's full-scale attacks on the country.
—Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 21 Apr. 2024
And the Union-Tribune reported last month that the sheriff’s primary health care provider has badly underachieved since it was hired two years ago to manage health care for the 4,000 or so people in county jails.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
Iran and Israel Iran is a major power in the Persian Gulf, and to call this region geopolitically significant badly understates the case.
—Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
When their boat was sprayed with Corexit, Herring started throwing up so badly an ambulance was called to pick him up.
—Travis Loller, Fortune Europe, 19 Apr. 2024
China badly wants foreign investment to boost its sluggish economy.
—Ken Moritsugu, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
A lot of people have been sort of aghast that Carrie fumbled Ben so badly.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 18 Apr. 2024
Pai Yang testified equipment and furnishings were improperly removed from the property − badly damaging a building.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
China’s growing output of solar panels led their price to drop 80% between 2008 and 2013, badly undercutting U.S. manufacturers.
—Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 2024
Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 21 Apr. 2024
And the Union-Tribune reported last month that the sheriff’s primary health care provider has badly underachieved since it was hired two years ago to manage health care for the 4,000 or so people in county jails.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
Iran and Israel Iran is a major power in the Persian Gulf, and to call this region geopolitically significant badly understates the case.
—Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
When their boat was sprayed with Corexit, Herring started throwing up so badly an ambulance was called to pick him up.
—Travis Loller, Fortune Europe, 19 Apr. 2024
China badly wants foreign investment to boost its sluggish economy.
—Ken Moritsugu, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
A lot of people have been sort of aghast that Carrie fumbled Ben so badly.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 18 Apr. 2024
Pai Yang testified equipment and furnishings were improperly removed from the property − badly damaging a building.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
China’s growing output of solar panels led their price to drop 80% between 2008 and 2013, badly undercutting U.S. manufacturers.
—Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'badly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
badly
adverb
bad·ly
ˈbad-lē 
worse
ˈwərs
; worst
ˈwərst
1
: in a bad manner
played badly
2
: very much
wanted the jeans badly
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