Loading page
say it: BAD-lee
badly is an adverb meaning "to a severe or serious degree". It is pronounced /ˈbædli/ — BAD-lee. It carries 10 recorded senses.
(`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”
combining form
evilly or wickedly
“treated his parents badly”
“to steal is to act badly”
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”
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”
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”
without skill or in a displeasing manner
“she writes badly”
“I think he paints very badly”
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”
unfavorably or with disapproval
“tried not to speak ill of the dead”
“thought badly of him for his lack of concern”
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”
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for badly come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.