Meaning & Definition of Badly in English

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 (`bad' is a nonstandard variant for `badly')

• "The injury hurt badly"

• "The buildings were badly shaken"

• "It hurts bad"

• "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"