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)
The Evening News (Edinburgh)
: fairly or acceptably well
The economy is doing not badly and looks even better than it really is.—Tom Teepen
Tom Teepen
: to have an unfavorable or low opinion of (someone or something)
Will you think badly of me if I disagree?
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
Shares of the retailer, which isn’t doing as badly as a 49% short position would suggest, flew 37.6% yesterday.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 23 July 2025
If Cleveland can poach Crawford and Abel from the Phillies, trading Clase might not hurt the future for the Guardians too badly.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
The engine that was turned off was not as badly damaged by the birds, and shutting it down removed the engine’s main source of thrust, The New York Times reported.
—Sam Gillette, People.com, 21 July 2025
Alvarez’s bat is badly needed, especially with the DH platoon of Starling Marte and Jesse Winker both injured.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 20 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
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Jim Cramer, CNBC, 23 July 2025
If Cleveland can poach Crawford and Abel from the Phillies, trading Clase might not hurt the future for the Guardians too badly.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
The engine that was turned off was not as badly damaged by the birds, and shutting it down removed the engine’s main source of thrust, The New York Times reported.
—Sam Gillette, People.com, 21 July 2025
Alvarez’s bat is badly needed, especially with the DH platoon of Starling Marte and Jesse Winker both injured.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 20 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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