Badly

Definition: Badly

Badly

Adverb

1. 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' 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. Evilly or wickedly; "treated his parents badly"; "to steal is to act badly".

4. 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. With great intensity; "the injury hurt badly"; "the buildings were badly shaken"; (`bad' is a nonstandard variant for `badly' as in "it hurts bad" or "we need water bad").

6. 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. Without skill or in a displeasing manner; "she writes badly"; "I think he paints very badly".

8. 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. Unfavorably or with disapproval; "tried not to speak ill of the dead"; "thought badly of him for his lack of concern".

10. : 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".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "badly" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references)

Multilingual Slang

Tips from 1870

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Badly

Adversity

Adjective: unfortunate, unblest, unhappy, unlucky; improsperous, unprosperous; hoodooed; luckless, hapless; out of luck; in trouble, in a bad way, in an evil plight; under a cloud; clouded; ill off, badly off; in adverse circumstances; poor; behindhand, down in the world, decayed, undone; on the road to ruin, on its last legs, on the wane; in one's utmost need.

Inexpedience

Adverb: badly; Adjective:; wrong, ill; to one's cost; where the shoe pinches.

Poverty

Adjective: poor, indigent; poverty-stricken; badly off, poorly off, ill off; poor as a rat, poor as a church mouse, poor as a Job; fortuneless, dowerless, moneyless, penniless; unportioned, unmoneyed; impecunious; out of money, out of cash, short of money, short of cash; without a rap, not worth a rap;(money); qui n'a pas le sou, out of pocket, hard up; out at elbows, out at heels; seedy, bare-footed; beggarly, beggared; fleeced, stripped; bereft, bereaved; reduced; homeless.

Crosswords: Badly

If you ever want something badly, let it go. If it comes back to you, then it's yours forever (Indecent Proposal; writing credit: Amy Holden Jones)

You need a mother very very badly! (Hook; writing credit: James V. Hart and Malia Scotch Marmo. Based on the play 'Peter Pan' by J.M. Barrie.)

If I treat you so badly, then why are you still here (Shrek; writing credit: Ted Elliott)

You sew very badly. (The English Patient; writing credit: Anthony Minghella)

Yeah, I've been starving them, teasing them, singing really badly off key (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge)

God I want you so badly (Crush; performing artist: Dave Matthews Band)

I made it out alive but I'm injured badly though (Murder Murder (Remix) *; performing artist: Eminem)

Leaving her to start with a heart so badly broken (Alone Again (Naturally); performing artist: Gilbert O'Sullivan)

Of something I need so badly (Can't let go; performing artist: Mariah Carey)

So badly it hurts all the time ((Wanna Get To Know You) That Good!; performing artist: Shania Twain)

A big bug bit a bold bald bear, and the bold bald bear bled blood badly. (references; author: unknown)

Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons -- balancing them badly. (references; author: unknown)

Badly Broke (1926)

Rip Van Winkle Badly Ripped (1915)

The Real Men Behaving Badly (2002)

Girls Behaving Badly (2002)

Badly Funded Think Tank (2001)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• A Badly Flawed Election: Debating Bush V. Gore, the Supreme Court, and American Democracy (reference)

• Americans Behaving Badly (reference)

• Behaving Badly (reference)

• How Badly Do You Want It? Your Ultimate Guide To Optimal Fitness (reference)

• Men Behaving Badly (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Playboy: Women Behaving Badly (reference)

• Women Behaving Badly (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Men Behaving Badly [IMPORT] (reference)

• Badly Browned (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Station Post emulating the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" Leg settled badly in vicinity of ditch Tower was rebuilt with one leg placed in center of road. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

U. S. Army Base Hospital Number 18, Bazoilles, France. : Johns Hokins Unit, dressing a badly wounded soldier. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Great Britain, British Red Cross Society Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital, Newton-Abbot, England. : Tent over a badly burned leg. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Damage resulting from the 17 July 1944 ammunition explosion. This view looks north from barricade magazine BM-138. A badly damaged pier is in the background with the remains of a ship barely visible off its tip (right distance). Note crushed roofs on Southern Pacific railway cars in the foreground, damaged automobile at left, railway crane in center, Marine sentry at right armed with a Reising .45 caliber submachinegun, and magazine door (labeled "BM-138/B") below the sentry. Photograph was taken by the Mare Island Navy Yard. Credit: NAVY.

Sailor W.R. Martin points out details of the Japanese trophy flags painted on the cruiser's pilothouse as a scoreboard of enemy ships claimed sunk in the Battle of Cape Esperance, 11-12 October 1942. The six Japanese ships (two heavy cruisers, a light cruiser and three destroyers) represented in this scoreboard greatly overstates the actual enemy losses, which were one heavy cruiser (Furutaka) and one destroyer (Fubuki) sunk and one heavy cruiser (Aoba) badly damaged. This overclaiming was typical of contemporary night surface actions. Photographed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, soon after Boise arrived there for battle damage repairs in November 1942. Credit: NAVY.

Dr. Dafoe says the Dionne quintuplets are badly spoiled : my friends, the good doctor really doesn't know what spoiled is!. Credit: Library of Congress.

Public school building -- wholly inadequate, badly overcrowded, pupils on half ... / Herbert Johnson. Credit: Library of Congress.

"I help to support the establishments I have mentioned; they cost enough, and those who are badly off must go there" -A Christmas Carol / Herblock. Credit: Library of Congress.

A First aid instructor, Nina Kuranova, tending a badly wounded soldier, in the thick of the fighting on the Leningrad front. Credit: Library of Congress.

Low-income farmers and Farm Security Administration Rural Rehabilitation clients in Sanpete County, Utah, badly needed an alfalfa duster. The equipment in this picture now belongs to the Axtell Alfalfa Duster Cooperative Association whose members in most. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

How? Not badly.

The poles were crooked and badly trimmed

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Patients who are badly hurt or very sick are seen first. (references)

Hysterectomy and removal of the ovaries may be the only treatment possible if the ovaries are badly damaged. (references)

Sleep-deprived people who are tested by using a driving simulator or by performing a hand-eye coordination task perform as badly as or worse than those who are intoxicated. (references)

Business

While China began to reduce the importation of nitrogen fertilizer from 1997, it has not badly hurt U.S. exports of fertilizer products. (references)

Technology-intensive automotive parts and components list in the best prospects are badly needed for China to achieve the goal of upgrading her obsolete automotive industry. (references)

PCL Computers' aggressive strategy of late 1997-to bring the PC to the common man with its "dhamaka" offer of INR 24,000 (apx. USD 640) backfired badly as it could not successfully execute its promises. (references)

Children

El Salvador

Foreign funds for badly needed rehabilitation services channeled through the Telethon Foundation Pro-Rehabilitation, a local private voluntary organization, helped address numerous rehabilitation issues and provided alternatives for the education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. (references)

Civil Liberties

Cote d'Ivoire

Several demonstrators were injured badly, and those who could not run were arrested. (references)

Antigua and Barbuda

An arsonist destroyed an opposition newspaper; a fire of suspicious origin badly damaged the Ministry of Information; and the UPP's outdoor convention site mysteriously was set on fire. (references)

Economic History

Turkey

The aging system badly needs renovation. (references)

Mexico

Mexico's agricultural sector is badly under-mechanized. (references)

Guyana

The year's tax target of US$82M was badly affected by the strike. (references)

Human Rights

Vietnam

Prison guards sometimes treat prisoners badly and frequently beat them. (references)

Brazil

He later was released, badly beaten and partly paralyzed, and died after 15 days in the hospital. (references)

Lebanon

One of the supporters was badly injured during the raid and was transported to a hospital for treatment. (references)

Political Rights

Barbados

Traditionally, the ruling party has fared badly in by-elections, but in a parish by-election in September the BLP representative gained 68 percent of the vote. (references)

Trade

Poland

These include two-stroke engine cars; automobiles, racing cars, and vans older than ten years; trucks older than six years; automobiles with no proof of the year in which they were manufactured and badly damaged automobiles. (references)

Travel

Egypt

Roads in Cairo are congested, and traffic is badly regulated. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "badly": badly annealed ♦ badly brought up ♦ badly clawed ♦ badly disciplined ♦ badly done ♦ badly fitting ♦ badly governed ♦ badly hit ♦ badly made ♦ badly needed ♦ badly off ♦ badly paid ♦ badly set ♦ badly worded ♦ badly wounded ♦ be badly adjusted ♦ be badly off ♦ be badly rattled ♦ be in badly with ♦ behave badly ♦ bring up badly ♦ come off badly ♦ come over badly ♦ construct badly ♦ crush badly ♦ cut badly ♦ do badly ♦ dreadfully badly ♦ feel badly about ♦ finish badly ♦ he needs money badly ♦ he was hit badly ♦ it fared badly with her ♦ my belly aches badly ♦ need smth. badly ♦ not badly ♦ pack badly ♦ play badly ♦ result badly ♦ speak badly ♦ speak badly of smb. ♦ speed badly ♦ take badly ♦ To be badly off ♦ train badly ♦ treat badly ♦ turn out badly ♦ very badly ♦ want badly ♦ want smth. badly ♦ we need it badly. Additional references.

Beginning with "badly": badly-acted, badly-aimed, badly-baked, badly-balanced, badly-beaten, badly-behaved, badly-bruised, badly-burned, badly-canned, badly-constructed, badly-cooked, badly-damaged, badly-decomposed, badly-designed, badly-done-by, badly-dressed, badly-faded, badly-fitted, badly-fitting, badly-handled, badly-hit, badly-hung, badly-indebted, badly-informed, badly-injured, badly-judged, badly-led, badly-lit, badly-made, badly-maintained, badly-managed, badly-mixed, badly-needed, badly-off, badly-organized, badly-paid, badly-phrased, badly-planned, badly-presented, badly-produced, badly-recorded, badly-remembered, badly-set, badly-signed, badly-sited, badly-slashed, badly-smelling, badly-sorted, badly-stapled, badly-stripped, badly-timed, badly-trained, badly-tuned, badly-worked, badly-worn, badly-written.

Afrikaans

sleg (bad, miserable, nasty, poor). (various references)

Albanian

keq (awry, bad, downhill, foul, miserable, nasty, poor, poorly). (various references)

Arabic 

‏على نحو فاضح, ‏على نحو ملح, ‏على نحو خطير (severely, sorely), ‏على نحو ردئ (bad, badness, cursedly), ‏إلى أبعد حد (awfully, exceedingly, most). (various references)

Basque

gaizki. (various references)

Bulgarian 

тежко (heavily, rough, severely, sore, sorely), глупаво (absurdly, bad, fatuously, foolishly, stupidly), опасно (dangerously), много силно, зле (ill), лошо (bad, hardly, ill, mis-, poorly), болезнено. (various references)

Chinese 

非常 (Abundantly, Dearly, terribly, Very, Very's, Vitally), 慘 (cruel, inhuman, miserable, seriously, tragic, wretched). (various references)

Czech

zle, vážnì (earnestly, gravelly, in earnest, really, seriously, severely), strašnì (abominably, awfully, fearfully, hellishly, horribly, infernally, mighty, with a vengeance), nutnì (necessarily, perforce), moc (authority, clout, enormously, force, forcefulness, might, mighty, much, potency, power, strength, sway, too, very), špatnì (ill, in a bad way, poorly, wrong, wrongly). (various references)

Danish

dårligt. (various references)

Dutch

slecht (bad, miserable, nasty, poor). (various references)

Esperanto

malbone. (various references)

Faeroese

illa. (various references)

Finnish

vaikeasti (seriously, with difficulty), pahoin (ill), huonosti (ill, poorly). (various references)

French

mauvais (bad), mal (bad). (various references)

German

schlecht (amiss, bad, bad (worse, chronic, corrupt, decayed, evil, faulty, foul, hard, ill, inferior, lamentable, lamentably, low, maladjusted, miserable, nasty, off, poor, poorly, sick, stale, terribly, uneasy, unhealthy, unkind, unpalatable, unsatisfactory, unsavory, unsavoury, unsuitably, wicked, wrong). (various references)

Greek 

κακώσ (ill, naughtily), κακά, άσχημα (objectionably). (various references)

Hawaiian

keq (bad, miserable, nasty, poor). (various references)

Hebrew 

באפן רע. (various references)

Hungarian

rosszul (amiss, crookedly, evil, evilly, ill, Illy, in a bad way, nohow, poorly, raunchy, scalawag, scruffy, to misdirect, to misuse sg, wrong). (various references)

Indonesian

kurang baik, jelek (bad, base, disreputable, ugly, worse). (various references)

Italian

male (ache, Amiss, bad, disease, evil, harm, hurt, ill, illness, misfortune, not well, pain, poorly, sickness, trouble, wrong, wrongly), malamente (ill, poorly). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

辛く当たる (to treat badly), 辛くあたる (to treat badly), 打ち込み (driving, falling badly in love, pounding in, puttinginto, shooting into), 旨く行かない (be unsuccessful, go badly), 出来損なう (to be badly made, to fail), 出来損ない (badly done, failure, good for nothing), 左前になる (to be badly off, to go downhill), 左前 (being badly off, downward course, wearing a kimono with the right side tucked under the left). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

ひだりまえになる (to be badly off, to go downhill), ひだりまえ (being badly off, downward course, wearing a kimono with the right side tucked under the left), うまくいかない (be unsuccessful, go badly), うちこみ (driving, falling badly in love, pounding in, puttinginto, shooting into), できそこなう (to be badly made, to fail), できそこない (badly done, dead loss, failure, good for nothing, good-for-nothing, washout), つらくあたる (to treat badly). (various references)

Korean 

나쁘게. (various references)

Manx

dy sie, dy holk (wickedly), dy donney. (various references)

Occitan

mal (advb). (various references)

Papiamen

malu (bad, ill, miserable, nasty, poor, sick, unwell). (various references)

Pig Latin

adlybay.(various references)

Polish

źle. (various references)

Portuguese

mal (bale, barely, blight, evil, hardly, harm, hurt, ill, ill-treat, just, little, malady, scarcely, sickness, teen, teener, wrong, wrongdoing). (various references)

Portuguese Brazilian

mal (hardly, harm, ill). (various references)

Romanian

urât (abominable, bad, boredom, dirty, ennui, filthy, foul, haggish, hateful, hideous, ill-featured, little, low, megrim, naughty, opprobrious, sour, squalid, tedium, ugly, unbecoming, unfairly, unsightly, vicious, villainous, wicked), tare (adamant, adamantine, crusty, deeply, double, durable, fast, fierce, firm, firmly, greatly, hard, hollow, intense, intensely, lasting, leathery, loud, loudly, mighty, potent, powerful, rigid, robust, rocky, solid, spanking, stalwart, steady, stiff, stout, strong, strongly, sturdy, to the echo, tough, unflinching, unflinchingly, vehement, vigorous, violent), rãu (Amiss, atrocious, awkward, awry, bad, bad for, bad-hearted, baleful, black, bum, corrupt, depraved, evil, flagitious, foul, haggish, harm, ill, immoral, lousy, malefic, maleficent, malicious, malign, mischief, mischievous, miserable, naughty, perverse, rough, scoundrel, sickness, thin, unspeakable, useless, venomous, vicious, vile, wicked, wretched, wrong), prost (ass, bad, beef-witted, blinkard, blockhead, blunt, booby, calf, cheap, clumsy, cock eyed, common, dead, dolt, doltish, donkey, dull, dullard, dumb, dunce, dunderhead, flat, fool, foolish, good for nothing, goof, goon, goose, Goosey, gull, harmful, idiot, idiotish, inhospitable, lousy, lubber-head, miserable, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, nitwitted, noddy, noodle, numskull, numskulled, oaf, oafish, pin head, poor, poorly, silly, simple, simpleton, snipe, soft, soft-headed, sorry, spoony, stupid, thoughtless, unfavorable, unfavourable, wretched, zombie), greşit (abroad, Amiss, astray, awry, bad, erroneous, erroneously, fallacious, false, faultily, faulty, incorrect, misled, mistaken, out of square, perverse, spurious, unfair, unjust, unlawful, vicious, wrong, wrongheaded), grav (austere, bad, critical, grave, gravely, grievously, important, low, low-pitched, matronal, serious, solemn, stern, weighty). (various references)

Russian 

сильно (anxiously, forcibly, hard, heavily, powerfully, severely, smashingly, strong, strongly, vigorously), очень (anxiously, awful, awfully, damnably, dooms, enormously, ever so, exceedingly, extremely, greatly, highly, hugely, immensely, jolly, miserably, most, much, overwhelmingly, particularly, passing, pretty much, quite, real, screamingly, so, thumping, to a degree, too, vastly, very, very much, very much indeed, well), ошибочно (erroneously, falsely, in error, mistakenly, wrongheadedly), нехорошо (bad), больно (hard), плохо;сильно, плохо (ill-treat, nasty, poorly), дурно (bad). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

vrlo (extremely, intensely, jolly, most, passing, right, strongly, true, uncommonly, very, whopping, wide), veoma (downright, greatly, highly, mighty, most, passing, plumb, real, right, terribly, vastly, very), rđavo (bad, ill, mis-, naughtily, worst), loše (amiss, bad, poorly, refuse). (various references)

Spanish

mal (Amiss, cowardice, damage, disease, evil, hardily, hardly, harm, hurt, ill, illness, in a bad way, infertility, inhumanity, lot, malady, naughtily, poorly, trouble, troubled, wrong, wrongdoing, wrongly). (various references)

Swahili

vibaya. (various references)

Swedish

svårt (difficult, hard, severely, sorely), illa (amiss, bad, ill, miserable, nasty, poor, poorly, severely, very, wrong). (various references)

Thai

เลว (bad), ไม่มีความสุข (bad), รุนแรง (hot, rampant, severe, smacking, termagent). (various references)

Turkish

berbat bir şekilde (dashed, dismally, terribily), berbat (abominable, abysmal, accursed, accurst, appalling, atrocious, awful, bad, beastly, bum, chronic, crappy, dashed, destroyed, deuced, devilish, disgusting, dread, dreadfull, egregious, execrable, fierce, flagitious, frightful, ghastly, grotty, hell, hell of, helluva, horrible, horrid, indifferent, infamous, infernal, ropy, rotten, screwed, shocking, sickening, spoilt, sticky, stinking, terrible, ungodly, unsavory, unsavoury, vicious, vile, villainous, violent, wretched), kötü (bad, black, chintzy, devilish, dread, dreadfull, evil, feeble, fierce, grotty, harmful, haunted, hedge, hellish, horrible, horrid, ill, indifferent, iniquitous, lousy, malign, mis-, miscreant, miserable, nasty, nefarious, obnoxious, off, offensive, poor, poorly, portentous, purple, rough, seamy, shady, sinister, sticky, stinking, ugly, unhallowed, unrighteous, vicious, wicked, worse, wrongful), fena halde (grossly, sore, sorely, unpleasantly), fena (angrily, bad, evil, foul, ill, malicious, miserable, nasty, poor, poorly, sinful, sinister, unholy, vicious, wicked), ağır (arduous, back breaking, bovine, burdensome, contemptuous, cumbersome, cumbrous, deep, deliberate, dignified, drudging, dull, fabian, foul, grave, grievous, hard, harsh, heavily, heavy, hefty, indigestible, languid, lazy, lumbering, massive, measured, muzzy, not fast, onerous, oppressive, plodding, ponderous, repressive, rich, scorching, scornful, serious, serious minded, seriously, severe, severely, sharp, slack, slashing, slow, slow moving, slowly, sluggish, smashing, stodgy, strenuous, strong, swingeing, toilful, toilsome, unwholesome, unwieldy, weighty), çok (a great number of, a lot, a whale of, a whale of a lot, abounding, abundant, acres and acres, affluent, ample, awfully, big, bloody, countless, damned, darned, dead, deadly, deeply, enormously, ever so, exuberant, fair, fantastically, galore, good, greatly, heaps of, heartily, hearty, heavily, heavy, hell, hell of, helluva, highly, innumerable, jolly, largely, lavish, like hell, loads of, lot, lots of, many, molto, more, much, multi-, multitudinous, numerous, over, piping, plenteous, plentiful, plenty, plenty of, poly-, precious, pretty, prodigal, profuse, rank, rattling, revoltingly, sadly, so, some, sorely, spanking, strongly, such, thundering, tidy, too, umpteen, umpteenth, umptieth, vast, vastly, very, well, whaling, whopping). (various references)

Ukrainian

вкрай (amain, dead, densely, enormously, horribly, in the extreme, real, really, sorely, thumping), погано (commonly, ill, poorly, thin, wrong), дуже інтенсивно. (various references)

Zulu

kabi. (various references)

male, male peius pessime, male, peius, pessime, nequiter, peius, pessime, secus. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Misspellings

"Badly" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Abdali, abdaly, Abdy, Abdyl, Adyl, bacly, badl, badle, Bady, baily, bakly, baldie, baly, balzy, Bardoli, barli, Barly, Batzli, Bawdley, beadly, Bedoli, bodly, boldy, Budley, buldy, dadly, fadly, gadly, hadly, ladly, nadly, padly, radly, tadly. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: baldy.

-1 letter: ably, bald, lady, yald.

-2 letters: aby, alb, bad, bal, bay, dab, dal, day, lab, lad, lay.

-3 letters: ab, ad, al, ay, ba, by, la, ya.

+1 letter: baldly, belady, drably, dyable.

+2 letters: audibly, bawdily, beadily, belayed, blandly, broadly, dryable, durably, dyeable, ladybug, rabidly.

+3 letters: abasedly, absurdly, adorably, badgerly, balladry, biasedly, biddably, bladdery, bridally, damnably, deniably, diablery, ladybird, ladybugs, laudably, readably, ribaldly, ribaldry.

+4 letters: abidingly, admirably, advisably, avoidably, bastardly, beladying, belatedly, bellyband, bipedally, blackbody, blarneyed, blizzardy, butylated, definably, desirably, endurably, eyeballed, husbandly, inaudibly, ladybirds, molybdate, subacidly, syllabled, twayblade.