: in a poor condition or manner
: somewhat ill : indisposed
Examples of poorly in a Sentence
Adverb
he tends to perform poorly on standardized tests
Adjective
she stayed home because she was feeling poorly
Recent Examples on the Web
Leah Hudson, Popular Science, 18 Sep. 2025
Kimmel was then offered a co-hosting gig on The Man Show (which has aged poorly, by the way).
—Sophie Hanson, StyleCaster, 18 Sep. 2025
Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
The researchers and their partners are also working to track local residents’ health and to measure how well or poorly interventions like masks and household air filters protected them.
—Maggie Astor, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poorly
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.
Adverb
His tests with patients, later known as the 21 grams experiment, were limited in sample size and poorly designed.
—Leah Hudson, Popular Science, 18 Sep. 2025
Kimmel was then offered a co-hosting gig on The Man Show (which has aged poorly, by the way).
—Sophie Hanson, StyleCaster, 18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
This involves having a poorly or non-functioning colon and is not usually reversible.
—Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
The researchers and their partners are also working to track local residents’ health and to measure how well or poorly interventions like masks and household air filters protected them.
—Maggie Astor, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poorly
Cite this Entry
“Poorly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poorly. Accessed 24 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share