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)
The Evening News (Edinburgh)
: fairly or acceptably well
The economy is doing not badly and looks even better than it really is.—Tom Teepen
Tom Teepen
: to have an unfavorable or low opinion of (someone or something)
"Will you think badly of me if I disagree?"
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
Adding to the shock factor of this particular comeback was how badly Indiana handled the ball in the first half.
—Joe Vardon, New York Times, 6 June 2025
Everlane Khaki Wide-leg Linen Pants These high-rise pants from Everlane are made from a breezy linen-viscose blend that won’t wrinkle as badly as 100 percent linen.
—Alexandra Pereira, Travel + Leisure, 5 June 2025
Maybe that unpredictability offers some small excuse as to how Disney botched things so badly on Iger’s first exit.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2025
The history of financial regulation has clarified the problems with this approach, but somehow that history still gets badly distorted.
—Norbert Michel, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
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Joe Vardon, New York Times, 6 June 2025
Everlane Khaki Wide-leg Linen Pants These high-rise pants from Everlane are made from a breezy linen-viscose blend that won’t wrinkle as badly as 100 percent linen.
—Alexandra Pereira, Travel + Leisure, 5 June 2025
Maybe that unpredictability offers some small excuse as to how Disney botched things so badly on Iger’s first exit.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2025
The history of financial regulation has clarified the problems with this approach, but somehow that history still gets badly distorted.
—Norbert Michel, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 8 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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