What does badly mean?

Definitions for badly
ˈbæd libad·ly

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word badly.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. badly, severely, gravely, seriouslyadverb

    to a severe or serious degree

    "fingers so badly frozen they had to be amputated"; "badly injured"; "a severely impaired heart"; "is gravely ill"; "was seriously ill"

  2. ill, badly, poorlyadverb

    (`ill' is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well

    "he was ill prepared"; "it ill befits a man to betray old friends"; "the car runs badly"; "he performed badly on the exam"; "the team played poorly"; "ill-fitting clothes"; "an ill-conceived plan"

  3. badlyadverb

    evilly or wickedly

    "treated his parents badly"; "to steal is to act badly"

  4. badly, mischievously, naughtilyadverb

    in a disobedient or naughty way

    "he behaved badly in school"; "he mischievously looked for a chance to embarrass his sister"; "behaved naughtily when they had guests and was sent to his room"

  5. badly, badadverb

    with great intensity (`bad' is a nonstandard variant for `badly')

    "the injury hurt badly"; "the buildings were badly shaken"; "it hurts bad"; "we need water bad"

  6. badly, badadverb

    very much; strongly

    "I wanted it badly enough to work hard for it"; "the cables had sagged badly"; "they were badly in need of help"; "he wants a bicycle so bad he can taste it"

  7. badlyadverb

    without skill or in a displeasing manner

    "she writes badly"; "I think he paints very badly"

  8. badly, disadvantageouslyadverb

    in a disadvantageous way; to someone's disadvantage

    "the venture turned out badly for the investors"; "angry that the case was settled disadvantageously for them"

  9. ill, badlyadverb

    unfavorably or with disapproval

    "tried not to speak ill of the dead"; "thought badly of him for his lack of concern"

  10. badlyadverb

    with unusual distress or resentment or regret or emotional display

    "they took their defeat badly"; "took her father's death badly"; "conducted himself very badly at the time of the earthquake"

Wiktionary

  1. badlyadverb

    In a bad manner.

  2. badlyadverb

    Very much; to a great degree.

    I want it so badly.

  3. badlyadjective

    ill, unwell

    He's never badly. (He's never ill.)

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Badlyadverb

    In a bad manner; not well.

    Etymology: from bad.

    How goes the day with us? Oh tell me, Hubert. ——
    Badly, I fear. How fares your majesty? William Shakespeare, King John.

ChatGPT

  1. badly

    Badly is an adverb used to describe something done in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or incorrect way. It can also imply something that is significantly wrong or harmful. Additionally, it is used to express the intensity of an unfavorable state or feeling, such as in the phrase 'feeling badly'.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Badlyadverb

    in a bad manner; poorly; not well; unskillfully; imperfectly; unfortunately; grievously; so as to cause harm; disagreeably; seriously

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'badly' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2412

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'badly' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2381

  3. Adverbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'badly' in Adverbs Frequency: #192

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

Anagrams for badly »

  1. baldy

  2. blady

How to pronounce badly?

How to say badly in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of badly in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of badly in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of badly in a Sentence

  1. Jamie McGoldrick:

    It only gives us a limited window to get the much needed supplies to the very remote areas, where some people have been very badly affected by the earthquakes, we have to make sure that there is enough materials - shelter, blankets, food, water and sanitation.

  2. Merry Seabold:

    Linda was a delightful, cheerful, generous, fun and smart lady, when you were around her, you were just comfortable. She never made you feel less than anybody. She didn’t talk badly about people. She always saw the good in people. She was always reluctant to say bad things about people. And I think that’s exactly what trapped her into marrying Paul Curry. He overwhelmed her by being so loving and generous. He treated her like a princess. She only saw the good.

  3. Mark Zandi:

    I think people's perceptions are clearly colored by the prism they're looking through, the political environment is badly polarized, and that's reflected in how people think about things.

  4. Samad Hussein Shihab:

    It was the only way to protect my family. Houta is a total disaster area, with almost no civilians remaining. 3,000 families have left and they are suffering badly.

  5. Donald Trump:

    Once again, #MSM is dishonest. 'Schlonged' is not vulgar. When I said Hillary got 'schlonged' that meant beaten badly.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

badly#1#9700#10000

Translations for badly

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"badly." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 4 Jan. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/badly>.

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    (used especially of glances) directed to one side with or as if with doubt or suspicion or envy
    A jejune
    B inexpiable
    C askant
    D commensal

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