BADNESS Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

badness

noun

Definition of badness

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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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.

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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for badness

Noun

But soon after, in Genesis 18, God tells Abraham of plans to investigate reports of sinfulness in Sodom and Gomorrah.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026
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

Definition of sinfulness

Noun

Despite initially losing consciousness herself as a result of the explosion, Maria still vividly remembered the atrocity when recounting it to the Museum of Civilian Voices.

— Emile Nuh, CNN Money, 31 July 2026
The finale, which opens with Max pausing to observe a small courtesy before committing an atrocity on Crystal’s houseboat, closes with the Bowdens reaching for ordinary family life after surviving an atrocity of their own.

— JP Mangalindan, Time, 31 July 2026

Definition of atrocity

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bad-mouths

badness

baffle

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“Badness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badness. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of badness

noun

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