badly

adverb

bad·​ly ˈbad-lē 

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

Synonyms

• bad
• deficiently
• inadequately
• lousily
• poorly
• unacceptably
• unsatisfactorily
• wretchedly

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

Bereaved families said that officials told them that the bodies were so badly damaged that officials need time before returning them to relatives. —Hyung-Jin Kim, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024

That contract belongs to Marcus Stroman, who faded badly in the second half of 2024 and was a non-factor in the Yankees' postseason run, failing to face even one batter. —George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024

The painful chapter had ended badly, with the last American personnel scrambling onto helicopters on the U.S. Embassy roof. —Ron Elving, NPR, 28 Dec. 2024

If that target is right, short sellers will be badly burned. —Peter Cohan, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing badly

• badly off

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