badly

[bad-lee]

adverb

worse, worst 

1. in a defective, incorrect, or undesirable way.

   The car runs badly.

2. in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unskilled manner.

   a vague, badly written letter; He paints badly.

3. unfavorably.

   His neighbors spoke badly of him. The weather turned out badly for the cruise.

4. in a wicked, evil, or morally or legally wrong way.

5. in a disobedient, naughty, or ethically or socially wrong way.

   He treats his parents badly.

6. very much; to a great extent or degree.

   a house badly in need of repair; to want something badly.

7. severely; direly.

   to be injured badly.

8. with great distress, resentment, regret, or emotional display.

   She took the news of her mother's death badly.

adjective

1. in ill health; sick.

   He felt badly.

2. sorry; regretful.

   I feel badly about your reaction to my remark.

3. dejected; downcast.

badly

/ ˈbædlɪ /

adverb

1. poorly; defectively; inadequately

   the chair is badly made

2. unfavourably; unsuccessfully; unfortunately

   our scheme worked out badly

3. severely; gravely

   he was badly hurt

4. incorrectly or inaccurately

   to speak German badly

5. improperly; naughtily; wickedly

   to behave badly

6. without humanity; cruelly

   to treat someone badly

7. very much (esp in the phrases need badly , badly in need of , want badly )

8. regretfully

   he felt badly about it

9. poor; impoverished

adjective

1. dialect,  (postpositive) ill; poorly

Usage

In the sense “very much,” badly is fully standard: He needs help badly. See also bad ¹.

Word History and Origins

Origin of badly¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English baddeli, baddeliche, badli(che) “wickedly, evilly, poorly”; bad ¹, -ly

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. badly off. bad.

Example Sentences

“That was a painful swoon, and it cost us the division, but to be part of that Ripken celebration when your team was struggling so badly took the pain away,” Hudler said.

From Los Angeles Times

Mor Singh, 60, never went to school but his selfless act of handing over his house to the village school - after it was badly damaged due to heavy rains - has made him a local hero.

From BBC

She cited festivals in mission towns, such as Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days Fiesta, where people dress up like the Californios of yore to remember a romanticized era that was destined to end badly.

From Los Angeles Times

The Saints are ones to watch here, because if they start badly they'll have their eye on Arch Manning in the draft.

From BBC

On the face of it, the past 10 days or so haven't gone too badly for Sheffield Wednesday.

From BBC

Related Words

• deeply 
• greatly 
• hard 
• painfully www.thesaurus.com
• seriously 
• severely