badly

badly — adverb

1. to a level where the harm, injury, or damage is heavy and serious

1.adverbA2
Definition

to a level where the harm, injury, or damage is heavy and serious

Example

Nia was badly hurt when her bicycle hit a parked van.

badly + past participle (badly hurt)

The old library roof was badly damaged in the storm last night.

badly damaged for physical destruction

Common collocations
  • badly hurt
  • badly injured
  • badly damaged
  • badly burned
  • badly affected
  • badly bruised
Synonyms
  • seriously

    very close in meaning; slightly more formal in news writing

  • severely

    stronger; emphasises the harshness of the harm

  • heavily

    common with 'damaged' and 'affected'; suggests a large quantity of damage

Antonyms
  • slightly

    the harm is small enough to be ignored

  • lightly

    common with 'injured' or 'wounded'

Grammar Patterns

badly + past participle (badly damaged, badly hurt, badly affected)

Usage Note

Almost always pairs with a past participle describing harm (hurt, injured, damaged, burned, affected) or a verb of performance (do, suffer, fare). Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is about how serious the harm is, not how poorly something was done.

Common Mistakes

My knee badly hurts.
My knee hurts badly.
with simple verbs, 'badly' usually follows the verb, not precedes it.
The car was bad damaged.
The car was badly damaged.
use the adverb 'badly' before a past participle, not the adjective 'bad'.

2. while doing an action, showing poor skill, little care, or rude conduct at the m

2.adverbA2
Definition

while doing an action, showing poor skill, little care, or rude conduct at the moment it is being performed

Example

Bao sang so badly at the party that the dog hid under the table.

verb + badly for poor skill

The instructions were written badly, so I built the shelf upside down.

Common collocations
  • sing badly
  • behave badly
  • write badly
  • drive badly
  • play badly
  • dressed badly
Synonyms
  • poorly

    slightly more neutral; common with performance verbs (perform poorly)

  • clumsily

    focuses on physical awkwardness rather than overall quality

  • carelessly

    highlights lack of care, not lack of skill

Antonyms
  • well

    the standard opposite for skill or behaviour

  • skilfully

    stresses high level of trained ability

Grammar Patterns

verb + badly (sing badly, drive badly, behave badly)

Usage Note

Often follows a verb of action (sing, dance, drive, write, behave). Distinguish from sense 1: here the focus is on the quality of how an action is done, not on harm or damage. Distinguish from sense 4: 'behaved badly' (rude conduct) vs. 'the team did badly' (sense 4, lost the match).

Common Mistakes

She speaks French badly bad.
She speaks French badly.
'badly' alone is the adverb; you do not add 'bad'.
He plays bad the guitar.
He plays the guitar badly.
place 'badly' after the object, not between verb and object.

3. very much, used after verbs like want, need, or miss to show that the feeling is

3.adverbA2
Definition

very much, used after verbs like want, need, or miss to show that the feeling is strong

Example

After two days in the desert, the hikers wanted water so badly they cried.

want + something + badly

Kenji needed the scholarship badly because his family could not afford the tuition.

need + something + badly

Common collocations
  • want badly
  • need badly
  • miss badly
  • wish badly
Synonyms
  • desperately

    stronger; suggests urgency or near-panic

  • very much

    neutral and works with a wider range of verbs

  • really

    informal; common in spoken English (I really want it)

Grammar Patterns

want / need / miss + something + badly

Usage Note

Restricted to verbs of desire and need: want, need, miss, crave, long. Cannot replace 'very much' with action verbs (you cannot say 'I love her badly'). Distinguish from sense 1: 'badly hurt' (harm) vs. 'badly want' (intensity of feeling).

Common Mistakes

I love my dog badly.
I love my dog very much.
'badly' as an intensifier only works with want, need, miss, and similar verbs.
She badly wants the job.' is acceptable, but more natural is
She wants the job badly.
placement after the object sounds more idiomatic.

4. with a final outcome that is a failure or that leaves the people involved disapp

4.adverbB1
Definition

with a final outcome that is a failure or that leaves the people involved disappointed

Example

The job interview went badly, and Hannah left in tears before lunch.

go badly: an event with a poor outcome

The kitchen renovation turned out badly, with leaking pipes and crooked tiles.

turn out badly: a poor final result

Common collocations
  • go badly
  • do badly
  • fare badly
  • end badly
  • turn out badly
Synonyms
  • poorly

    very close; slightly more formal in test or business reports

  • unsuccessfully

    more formal; emphasises the failure rather than the disappointment

Antonyms
  • well

    the standard positive opposite (the interview went well)

  • successfully

    more formal; emphasises a clear positive outcome

Grammar Patterns

do / go / fare / turn out + badly

Usage Note

Subject is usually an event, project, or person being judged on results (interview, exam, business, team). Distinguish from sense 2: sense 2 judges how the action was performed at the time; sense 4 judges the final outcome that follows. Often pairs with 'for + person' to show who was disadvantaged.

Common Mistakes

The match went bad.' (when meaning lost)
The match went badly.
use 'badly' for outcomes; 'go bad' usually means food spoiling.
It ended badly to him.
It ended badly for him.
use the preposition 'for' to mark the disadvantaged person.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

All four words describe harm or damage that is far from light, but each leans different. 'Badly' is the everyday word and feels natural in spoken English, especially with hurt, injured, damaged, and burned. 'Seriously' is similar but slightly more formal and is the preferred word in news reports — 'seriously injured in a car crash.' 'Severely' is stronger and often suggests lasting consequences, common with health and weather contexts: 'severely ill,' 'severely flooded.' 'Heavily' fits best with quantities or visible volume of damage — 'heavily bombed,' 'heavily affected by floods' — and rarely pairs with 'hurt' or 'injured.' Compare: a child who falls is 'badly hurt'; a soldier in hospital is 'seriously wounded'; a region after a hurricane is 'severely damaged'; a city after weeks of bombing is 'heavily damaged.'

badly ↗seriously ↗severely ↗heavily ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • very badly
  • really badly
  • quite badly
  • rather badly

Phrases

  • take it badly
  • feel badly about
  • come off badly
  • be badly off

Prepositions

  • badly off (poor)
  • badly in need of
  • reflect badly on
  • think badly of

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Badly' was formed in Middle English by adding the adverb-making ending '-ly' to the adjective 'bad.' The base word 'bad' itself appears in English from around the 13th century, and its earlier history is uncertain — it may go back to an Old English term for someone considered worthless, but no clear chain of forms survives. By the late 1300s 'badly' was used in the sense of 'wickedly' or 'wrongly,' and over time it widened to cover poor skill ('sang badly'), serious harm ('badly hurt'), and strong desire ('want badly'). The intensifier use with 'want' and 'need' is more recent, becoming common only from the 1800s.