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
That is a big part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: people of low character behaving badly.
—Jason Newman, Rolling Stone, 10 May 2025
That lesson is one that Washington badly needs to learn.
—Faisal Kutty, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Though the country is potentially facing an economic downturn, industry analysts suggest that tough financial times won’t badly damage the cinema business.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 6 May 2025
Related article The clock is ticking down to zero, and Trump needs a trade deal — badly
The Trump administration, for its part, has said India, Japan and South Korea will likely reach a trade deal with the US, but the weeks are rolling on with no deal in sight.
—Olesya Dmitracova, CNN Money, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Jason Newman, Rolling Stone, 10 May 2025
That lesson is one that Washington badly needs to learn.
—Faisal Kutty, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Though the country is potentially facing an economic downturn, industry analysts suggest that tough financial times won’t badly damage the cinema business.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 6 May 2025
Related article The clock is ticking down to zero, and Trump needs a trade deal — badly
The Trump administration, for its part, has said India, Japan and South Korea will likely reach a trade deal with the US, but the weeks are rolling on with no deal in sight.
—Olesya Dmitracova, CNN Money, 6 May 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 17 May. 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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