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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)
: fairly or acceptably well
The economy is doing not badly and looks even better than it really is.—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
Synonyms
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
Boeing bungled its recent mission to ferry astronauts to the ISS so badly that SpaceX has at least a temporary monopoly over astronaut launches from American soil.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
Jourdain needed the win badly and got the $50,000 bonus.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
Adding to Bacon’s challenges is the fact that Trump is badly trailing Harris in the district, at least according to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll that found the GOP presidential nominee behind by 12 points.
—Filip Timotija, The Hill, 3 Nov. 2024
Even Burgess acknowledges how badly the state needed to modernize its voter registration system.
—Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, 2 Nov. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of badly was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing badly
Dictionary Entries Near badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on badly
Nglish: Translation of badly for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of badly for Arabic Speakers
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