poorly

poorly — adverb

1. with weak quality, little skill, or disappointing results.

1.adverbC1
Definition

with weak quality, little skill, or disappointing results.

Example

The team played poorly in the second half and lost 3-0.

play poorly for weak performance

Because the map was poorly drawn, we took the wrong road.

poorly + past participle

Common collocations
  • play poorly
  • perform poorly
  • poorly written
  • poorly designed
  • poorly built
Synonyms
  • badly

    the closest everyday synonym, broader and more common in speech

  • inadequately

    more formal, stressing that the quality or amount is not enough

  • unsuccessfully

    focuses on failure in the final result rather than low quality

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

verb + poorly

be + poorly + past participle

Usage Note

Common with verbs of performance and evaluation, such as 'play', 'perform', 'answer', 'write', and 'design'. Distinguish from adjective/1 (ILL): this adverb describes how something is done, not a person's health.

Common Mistakes

The essay was poor written.
The essay was poorly written.
use the adverb to modify the past participle 'written'.
She did the test bad.
She did the test poorly.' or ✅ 'She did badly in the test.
after a verb, use an adverb, not the adjective 'bad'.

poorly — adjective

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

'Poorly' and 'badly' often overlap, but 'poorly' is especially common in comments about quality, design, or performance: 'the report was poorly written'. 'Badly' is broader and more everyday, and it also has uses that 'poorly' cannot take, such as 'I badly need sleep' or 'his ankle was badly hurt'. 'Inadequately' is more formal and focuses on not being enough for the purpose, not simply being low in quality. 'Unsuccessfully' points to the final outcome: the attempt failed, even if the method itself was not poor. Compare 'She answered the question poorly' for weak quality, 'She answered badly' for the everyday version, and 'She answered unsuccessfully' only when the result was failure.

poorlybadlyinadequatelyunsuccessfully