bad Hear it!

bad¹ Definition

bad (bad)

adjective worse, worst

    1. not good; not as it should be a bad attitude, a bad deal
    2. defective in quality; below standard; inadequate bad plumbing
  2. showing a lack of talent, judgment, aptitude, skill, etc. a bad painting, a bad writer
  3. not pleasant; unfavorable; disagreeable bad news
  4. rotten; spoiled a bad apple
  5. incorrect; faulty; erroneous bad spelling
    1. wicked; immoral
    2. not behaving properly; mischievous
  7. causing injury; harmful bad for one's health
  8. severe a bad storm
  9. ill; in poor health
  10. sorry; distressed he feels bad about it
  11. offensive; disgusting a bad smell
  12. unpaid and not collectible a bad debt
  13. Law defective; not valid; void a bad title
  14. bad′·der, bad′·dest☆ Slang very good, stylish, effective, etc.

Etymology: ME bad, badde < ? OE bæddel, hermaphrodite

adverb worse, worst

Informal badly

noun

  1. anything that is bad; bad quality or state
  2. wickedness

bad¹ Related Forms

bad′·ness noun

bad¹ Idioms

go to the bad

Informal to become wicked, shiftless, etc.; degenerate

in bad

☆ Informal
  1. in trouble
  2. in disfavor

not bad

Informal good; fairly good; not unsatisfactory

the bad

those who are wicked

bad² Definition

bad (bad)

transitive verb, intransitive verb

  1. Archaic bid
  2. Obsolete bide

bad Synonyms

bad

modif.

  1. Wicked

    immoral, evil, wrong, corrupt; see wicked 1, 2.

  2. Spoiled

    rotten, rancid, decayed, putrid; see rotten 1, 2.

  3. Below standard

    defective, inferior, inadequate; see faulty, poor 2, unsatisfactory.

  4. In poor health

    ill, diseased, ailing; see sick.

  5. Injurious

    hurtful, damaging, detrimental; see harmful.

  6. Not pleasant or opportune

    unfavorable, disagreeable, adverse, unfortunate; see unfavorable 2.

  7. Sorry

    regretful, contrite, distressed, dejected; see sad 1, sorry 1.

  8. Severe

    severe, serious, grave, critical; see acute 2, dangerous 1.

  9. Not behaving properly

    naughty, disobedient, mischievous; see naughty.

  10. *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*

dangerously ill, in critical condition, in serious trouble; see dying 1, sick, in trouble 1 at trouble.

in bad*

in difficulty, in disfavor, unwelcome; see in trouble 1 at trouble.

not bad*

all right, pretty good, good, passable; see excellent, fair 2.

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.