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
Their preferred presidential candidate, Saeed Jalili, badly lost the election last year.
—
Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2025
Some have fled from a country where they have been badly treated by the police.
—Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2025
Everything about Amy’s situation reflects badly on Jacobson-Moore’s senior management, which handled both sides of the Buckleys’ prenup.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
Consider gold, an investment that usually does well when stocks and bonds do badly.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2025
Some have fled from a country where they have been badly treated by the police.
—Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2025
Everything about Amy’s situation reflects badly on Jacobson-Moore’s senior management, which handled both sides of the Buckleys’ prenup.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
Consider gold, an investment that usually does well when stocks and bonds do badly.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badly
Adverb
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Champions League trophies are what coaches — including Ancelotti, whose hopes of a sixth are fading — desire and Emery scores poorly on that front.—
Justin Guthrie,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
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Gabon, Cameroon, Central African Republic and Guinea-Bissau all score poorly on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.—
Richard Aidoo,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2025
Adverb
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To Graydon Carter, a founder and coeditor of Air Mail and former editor of Vanity Fair, all of this seems terribly unfair.—
Nathan King,
Architectural Digest,
17 Apr. 2025
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Something would have to go terribly wrong for the Yankees to give up on the 2025 season.—
Chris Kirschner,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
Adverb
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Remember, too much of a good thing can turn bad quickly!—
Amber Smith,
Discover Magazine,
3 Apr. 2024
-
That started off bad and got better.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2023
Adverb
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However, experts maintain that voter fraud remains extremely rare, with studies showing minimal evidence of noncitizen voting.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Apr. 2025
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Sudden hearing loss can be caused by proximity to an extremely loud sound like an explosion.—
Uma Raja,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2025
Adverb
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Peters returns for the Manhattan Theatre Club’s fresh, surprising and very special Broadway production, following its run in Los Angeles.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
9 Apr. 2025
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If both came together in one fell swoop, Djokovic would probably retire a very happy man.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
Adverb
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An incredibly realistic short almond nail set that may just have your friends fooled.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
14 Apr. 2025
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McIlroy came out incredibly hot, turning a two-shot deficit to Justin Rose into a three-shot lead in just over an hour.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Apr. 2025
Adverb
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Many more children were affected by the bombing, too.—
Jenni Carlson,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
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Adam Wharton falls into this category too and for that reason completes my midfield.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
19 Apr. 2025
Adverb
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For a generation of music-and-fashion obsessives, Williams, 52, is revered as the original hip-hop eccentric: highly expressive, unapologetically audacious, unafraid to flout menswear conventions, especially the hypermasculine tropes ascribed to rap music.—
Chioma Nnadi,
Vogue,
15 Apr. 2025
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Things that people think are morally abnormal – aberrant behavior, transgressions, violations of their most sacred values – are viewed as highly threatening and necessary to shut down, with force if necessary.—
Jen Cole Wright,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badly. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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