badly

adverb

ˈbad-lē How to pronounce badly (audio)
Definition of badlynext
1
as in poorly
in an unsatisfactory way I'm afraid you performed quite badly in our last rehearsal

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terribly
to a great degree blood donors are badly needed this time of year

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of badly These are worthy goals, but Trump’s policies have badly missed their mark. — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026 Their involvement doesn’t spare them unflattering moments; plenty of characters are shown behaving strangely, badly, or both. — Alex Barasch, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026 An interceptor that loses its link above 100 mph—or, by some accounts, above 43 mph—is badly outmatched. — Steven John, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026 Public buildings, including a 19th-century town hall in Limoges, were badly burned, and nearly 2,400 people were arrested. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 19 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for badly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badly
  1. poorly
  2. terribly
  3. bad
  4. extremely
  5. very
  6. incredibly
  7. too
  8. severely
Adverb
  • Things were going poorly even before Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign ran the most offensive ad of the year.
    — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026
  • His season started poorly with an injury in the first game of the year.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of poorly
Adverb
  • That’s not terribly surprising given the two teams have clashed multiple times over the past 25 years of Xbox.
    — Tom Warren, The Verge, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Conservation can go terribly wrong if local communities aren’t consulted during planning.
    — David Ginsburg, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of terribly
Adverb
  • Another would be to coat your thumbs with a bad-tasting substance.
    — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 30 July 2026
  • Of course, Hole himself isn’t averse to breaking bad, either.
    — Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 23 Mar. 2026
Definition of bad
Adverb
  • Today, however, plague is curable and extremely unlikely to blow up into a new pandemic, experts say.
    — Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Nowhere was his balancing act viewed more extremely than with Ukraine.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of extremely
Adverb
  • And Winnie-the-Pooh continues to sit, in a thoughtful sort of way, which is what very old bears in very nice glass cases mostly do.
    — STEVE HENDRIX THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The Dolphins’ attendance has dropped significantly so far this season, albeit in a very limited sample size.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of very
Adverb
  • There's no doubt that Riley Green's acoustic performances are incredibly popular.
    — David Hookstead OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • These teachers work with students who have an incredibly diverse set of needs, including those with autism, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, developmental delays and physical disabilities.
    — Jonaki Mehta, NPR, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of incredibly
Adverb
  • But the clean provenance and their New York highlife has never appeased Pooh partisans who think Fifth Avenue is much too far from the Hundred Acre Wood.
    — STEVE HENDRIX THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The implication was that his predecessor Scott Stuber had overpaid for talent and too-ambitiously committed to a new Netflix movie release every week in 2022.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of too
Adverb
  • Fetal personhood would also likely eliminate, or at a minimum severely restrict, people who seek to start a family using surrogacy and in vitro fertilization.
    — Jim Defede, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Torosian had told the prosecutor’s office that an undernourished, severely disabled girl who was receiving treatment at BioMed was subsisting entirely on spinach—on Kotthaus’s orders.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of severely

Browse Nearby Words

badlands
badly
bad-mouth
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Cite this Entry

“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badly. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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