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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)
: fairly or acceptably well
The economy is doing not badly and looks even better than it really is.—Tom Teepen
: to have an unfavorable or low opinion of (someone or something)
"You shouldn't think badly of the town because of this," said Brogan. "It is a good town."—Neil Gaiman
Synonyms
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
But the supply for most of our goods and services had been badly disrupted.
—Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
Cleveland led by 19 after the first quarter and the game was never close after that, the Lakers sputtering badly on both ends of the court.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024
Boeing bungled its recent mission to ferry astronauts to the ISS so badly that SpaceX has at least a temporary monopoly over astronaut launches from American soil.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
Jourdain needed the win badly and got the $50,000 bonus.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of badly was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing badly
Dictionary Entries Near badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on badly
Nglish: Translation of badly for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of badly for Arabic Speakers
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