of poor quality, unpleasant, or not good at all
The cake tasted bad, so no one ate it.
His handwriting is so bad that I can hardly read it.
morally wrong, harmful, or evil
Stealing is bad, no matter how small the item is.
Her parents warned her to stay away from bad people.
slang: extremely good, impressive, or tough
That skateboard trick you just did was bad!
She’s one bad drummer; the crowd loved her solo.
in a poor or unacceptable way; not well
She plays the piano badly, hitting many wrong notes.
The paint was applied so badly that streaks covered the wall.
✦ Formed from the adjective “bad” + the adverbial suffix “-ly,” first recorded in Middle English.
seriously or severely
The cyclist was badly injured in the accident.
The house was badly damaged by the storm.
very much; to a great degree
I want to see you so badly.
She missed her family badly during her trip.
not healthy; sick.
I woke up feeling ill this morning.
The flu made her feel very ill.
✦ From Old Norse illr meaning 'evil, bad', entering English in the Middle Ages.
harm, injury, or misfortune.
She bore him no ill.
The debate brought much ill to the community.
in a bad, poor, or unsatisfactory way.
The team was ill prepared for the match.
He spoke ill of his former boss.
