bad¹ Definition
bad (bad)
adjective worse, worst
- not good; not as it should be a bad attitude, a bad deal
- defective in quality; below standard; inadequate bad plumbing
- showing a lack of talent, judgment, aptitude, skill, etc. a bad painting, a bad writer
- not pleasant; unfavorable; disagreeable bad news
- rotten; spoiled a bad apple
- incorrect; faulty; erroneous bad spelling
- wicked; immoral
- not behaving properly; mischievous
- causing injury; harmful bad for one's health
- severe a bad storm
- ill; in poor health
- sorry; distressed he feels bad about it
- offensive; disgusting a bad smell
- unpaid and not collectible a bad debt
- Law defective; not valid; void a bad title
- bad′·der, bad′·dest☆ Slang very good, stylish, effective, etc.
Etymology: ME bad, badde < ? OE bæddel, hermaphrodite
adverb worse, worst
Informal badly
noun
- anything that is bad; bad quality or state
- wickedness
bad¹ Related Forms
bad¹ Idioms
go to the bad
Informal to become wicked, shiftless, etc.; degenerate
in bad
☆ Informal- in trouble
- in disfavor
not bad
Informal good; fairly good; not unsatisfactory
the bad
those who are wicked
bad² Definition
bad Synonyms
bad
modif.
Wicked
Spoiled
Below standard
defective, inferior, inadequate; see faulty, poor 2, unsatisfactory.In poor health
Injurious
hurtful, damaging, detrimental; see harmful.Not pleasant or opportune
unfavorable, disagreeable, adverse, unfortunate; see unfavorable 2.Sorry
regretful, contrite, distressed, dejected; see sad 1, sorry 1.Severe
Not behaving properly
naughty, disobedient, mischievous; see naughty.*Very good
stylish, effective, sharp; see excellent, fashionable. See syn. study at wicked.
bad, in this comparison, is the broadest term, ranging in implication from merely unsatisfactory to utterly depraved; evil and wicked connote willful violation of a moral code, but evil often has ominous or malevolent implications an evil hour, and wicked is sometimes weakened in a playful way to mean merely mischievous wicked wit; ill, which is slightly weaker than evil in its implications of immorality, is now used chiefly in certain idiomatic phrases ill-gotten gains; naughty today implies mere mischievousness or disobedience a naughty child
in a bad way*
in bad*
not bad*
bad Usage Examples
Preposition: at
math: He was at school and he was probably very bad at math and history and everything else.
Adjective complement with noun phrase
make: To make matters worse I got into trouble with the railroad officials during a return journey from Gatwick races.
Modifies a noun
- weather: This region can see some of the UK's worst weather!
- luck: Bad luck for Martha, then, who has to stand out in the cold all night.
- news: Now onto the bad news: Five is the only network channel not to use Sky Series Links.
- guy: Apparently the debit of 1 pound is a common thing, used by the bad guys to test whether the card is valid.
- thing: Thursday, January 13th, 2005 Bad things come in threes right?
- habit: Bad Habits: Unable to think badly of myself!
Used with adjective complement
- feel: I felt really bad for her, " he said, stealing a sad glance at Mimi.
- get: Sadly, the games have been slowly getting worse with Code Veronica been absolutely awful.
- fare: Firms producing less than 50 frames per week fared worst.
- seem: In fact the weather seems worse than it used to be!
- smell: This feed has a very nice consistency and unlike some organic feeds doesn't smell too bad either.
- look: At a cost of £ 22.50 single, the rail offering at £ 35 doesn't look bad.
Modifying Another Word
- even: Even worse, emigrants faced the prospect of not earning wages for up to five months.
- too: Too bad we never get to see him go medieval on the boards.
Preposition: of
weather: Also, being the lowest point on the Rookley Country Park site it is sheltered from the worst of the weather.
Preposition: for
- wear: Later that night Matt returned home, the worse for wear and was ill on his bed.
- democracy: The result was bad for politics and bad for democracy.
Preposition: than
death: The girl gets captured by the Indians, and narrowly escaping a fate worse than death rushes out into the arms of the sheriff.
Browse dictionary entries near bad
- ‹ baculum
- ‹ baculiform
- ‹ Bactrian camel
- ‹ Bactria
- ‹ bacteroid
- ‹ bacterize
- ‹ bacteriuria
- ‹ bacterium
- ‹ bacteriostasis
- ‹ bacteriorhodopsin
- bad blood ›
- bad character ›
- bad check ›
- bad debt ›
- bad egg ›
- bad faith ›
- bad-mouth ›
- bad-tempered ›
- bad title ›
- Badajoz ›

