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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
Sinner was struggling badly with illness in the heat and was saved in large part by a medical timeout and a 21-minute break to fix a broken net.
—Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
Choose Salt-Tolerant Plants Plants like viburnum, boxwood, red twig dogwood, and serviceberry react badly to salty soil.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Jan. 2025
Investors sold off, analysts questioned the selloff and pilots expressed frustration that the carrier’s profit-sharing level badly trails peers.
—Ted Reed, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
Zorro, a gray and white dog, was found badly wounded on the side of I-95 in Miami-Dade County last year, Local 10 reported.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 22 Jan. 2025
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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 27 Jan. 2025.
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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