badly

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English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Adverb

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.

Usage notes

  • 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

Translations

Adjective

badly (comparative more badly, superlative most badly)

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

Translations

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