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 GaimanExamples 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
In an interview, Mr. Martin said his view was being badly misinterpreted.
—Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025
Knowing how badly Laine had been struggling with the Montreal Canadiens, coming into the tournament on an eight-game pointless streak, Pennanen had a one-on-one conversation with the mercurial scoring star.
—Arpon Basu, The Athletic, 16 Feb. 2025
Authorities said there were signs she had been badly beaten, malnourished and tortured prior to her death, according to a statement from the Racine County Sheriff’s Office.
—Nicole Acosta, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025
Rich and poor characters alike behave badly on the show—but only the former expect to get away with their sins, and usually do.
—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
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Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025
Knowing how badly Laine had been struggling with the Montreal Canadiens, coming into the tournament on an eight-game pointless streak, Pennanen had a one-on-one conversation with the mercurial scoring star.
—Arpon Basu, The Athletic, 16 Feb. 2025
Authorities said there were signs she had been badly beaten, malnourished and tortured prior to her death, according to a statement from the Racine County Sheriff’s Office.
—Nicole Acosta, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025
Rich and poor characters alike behave badly on the show—but only the former expect to get away with their sins, and usually do.
—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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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