1
as in poorly
in an unsatisfactory way
I'm afraid you performed quite badly in our last rehearsal
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terribly
to a great degree
blood donors are badly needed this time of year
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of badly
Last Wednesday, Smith left practice holding his leg after being beaten badly by Waddle on a long pass from Tagovailoa.
—
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 June 2025
Or have the guardrails corroded so badly that anyone now faces the prospect of the President’s pen becoming a sword?
—Miles Taylor, Time, 3 June 2025
One elderly woman’s clothing badly caught on fire, Kornfeld said, and the group rolled her body to try to put out the flames.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 3 June 2025
Duran debuted in 2021 at age 24, and struggled badly until 2023 — and that year his season was cut short by an injury to a tendon in his toe that required surgery.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 June 2025
Or have the guardrails corroded so badly that anyone now faces the prospect of the President’s pen becoming a sword?
—Miles Taylor, Time, 3 June 2025
One elderly woman’s clothing badly caught on fire, Kornfeld said, and the group rolled her body to try to put out the flames.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 3 June 2025
Duran debuted in 2021 at age 24, and struggled badly until 2023 — and that year his season was cut short by an injury to a tendon in his toe that required surgery.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badly
Adverb
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The Long And Winding Road Margevicius pitched poorly (0-4, 8.25 ERA) at Triple-A Tacoma in 2022 and was released.—
Chuck Murr,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
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That would be a head-scratching move for the Browns, as Richardson has played poorly since being selected at No. 4 overall by the Colts in the 2023 NFL Draft.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 June 2025
Adverb
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After its last attempt to take down the Autobots goes terribly awry, he’s booted out of the Decepticons forever.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
12 June 2025
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As events would soon make clear, that assumption was terribly misguided.—
Vali Nasr,
Foreign Affairs,
10 June 2025
Adverb
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Remember, too much of a good thing can turn bad quickly!—
Amber Smith,
Discover Magazine,
3 Apr. 2024
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That started off bad and got better.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2023
Adverb
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Mills, a longtime associate of Fiona Apple, knows this territory well: the pointed self-analysis of an extremely sensitive person.—
Jenn Pelly,
Time,
7 June 2025
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City’s academy has been extremely productive in recent years, with Phil Foden the shining light, but Rico Lewis, James McAtee, Oscar Bobb and O’Reilly are all now established squad players.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
7 June 2025
Adverb
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The film’s topic is very relevant today, as minorities all over the world face threats of harassment and sometimes their very extermination.—
Kevin Giraud,
Variety,
7 June 2025
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Remember to look high and low, scrutinizing not just eye-level shelves but also the very top ledges and the floor beneath hanging clothes.—
Nicole Letts,
Southern Living,
7 June 2025
Adverb
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After four successful seasons of Godfather of Harlem — a true cultural phenomenon — moving into producing and creating new shows with him felt incredibly natural and organic.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
13 June 2025
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One dog’s late-night cravings led him on a five-mile (incredibly relatable) journey.—
Rachel McRady,
People.com,
13 June 2025
Adverb
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But there are many times when Ait-Nouri resorts to his tricks too readily, with his over-elaboration putting his team in trouble.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
6 June 2025
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Similarly, if one person yells loudly during a funeral, other people will, too.—
Michael Butler,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2025
Adverb
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Nonetheless, Verizon is highly focused on customer retention and improving churn to rebound to its BAU (business as usual) levels in the second half of this year, partly supported by its new upgrade program.—
TipRanks.com Staff,
CNBC,
15 June 2025
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Although Android 16 has now launched, at least for some device users, and brought with it long-overdue and highly welcome new security protections, users of Google Messages will need to wait a little longer for one critical update.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
15 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badly. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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