Wiktionary

badly

English

edit

Etymology

edit

From Middle English badly, baddely, baddeliche, equivalent to bad +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ˈbæd.li/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ædli

Adverb

edit

badly (comparative worse, superlative worst)

  1. In a bad manner.
    Things are going badly for her: she did badly in her exams owing to a badly designed studying schedule.
    Don't think badly of me, give me the benefit of the doubt.
  2. Very much; to a great degree.
    I want it so badly.
    Look at these split ends! You badly need a haircut!
    Everything went badly wrong.
    • 2008, Darl Larsen, Monty Python's Flying Circus, page 276:
      In late 1970, Labour assumed the shadow posts, having lost badly (and unforeseenly) in the summer General Election.

Usage notes

edit
  • Badly is sometimes used after feel in its copulative sense where one might expect an adjective, ie, bad. Most prescriptive grammarians prefer "I feel bad" to "I feel badly", but "I feel badly" is widely used.

Derived terms

edit

Translations

edit

Adjective

edit

badly (comparative more badly, superlative most badly)

  1. (Northern England) Ill, unwell.
    He's never badly.

Translations

edit

Anagrams

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=badly&oldid=82610928"