badly

adverb

bad·​ly ˈbad-lē How to pronounce badly (audio)
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)
not badly
: fairly or acceptably well
The economy is doing not badly and looks even better than it really is.Tom Teepen
think badly of
: 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

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
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.
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 See all Example Sentences for badly 

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

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 How to pronounce badly (audio)
worse
ˈwərs
; worst
ˈwərst
1
: in a bad manner
played badly
2
: very much
wanted the jeans badly

More from Merriam-Webster on badly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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