as in sinfulness
the state or quality of being utterly evil
the villain's complete badness made him a good foil for the unfailingly virtuous hero
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Recent Examples of badness
On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder.
—
Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2026
The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
As if to prove that it can’t be exceeded in badness, Playdate has both.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 12 Nov. 2025
Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2026
The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
As if to prove that it can’t be exceeded in badness, Playdate has both.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 12 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badness
Noun
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Denver author Josiah Hesse was raised by Evangelical parents in churches that believe in the torments of hell, that their poverty is due to their sinfulness and lack of faith.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
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This lawless crew shares dramaturgical DNA with the vice figures from medieval morality plays, personifications of sinfulness who would confide their schemes to the audience and make theatergoers their co-conspirators in a riveting game that obviously left its mark on a young Shakespeare.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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That was really what helped me into the character and into her evilness.—
William Earl,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This is a story that traces the path to justice for mass atrocity in the face of public acquiescence.—
Sheila Coronel,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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Violence in the backcountry between Americans and Native people intensified, fueled by rhetoric justifying atrocities and the expulsion of Indigenous nations to address Americans’ demand for new land.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Badness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badness. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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