Library / English Dictionary

    BAD

    Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

    Irregular inflected forms: worse  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation, worst  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

     I. (noun) 

    Sense 1

    Meaning:

    That which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decencyplay

    Example:

    take the bad with the good

    Synonyms:

    bad; badness

    Classified under:

    Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

    Hypernyms ("bad" is a kind of...):

    quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

    Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bad"):

    unworthiness (the quality or state of lacking merit or value)

    undesirability (the quality possessed by something that should be avoided)

    worse (something inferior in quality or condition or effect)

    evil (that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune)

    unsoundness (not mentally or physically healthy)

    liability (the quality of being something that holds you back)

    inadvisability (the quality of being ill-advised)

    Antonym:

    good (that which is pleasing or valuable or useful)

     II. (adjective) 

    Comparative and superlative

    Comparative: worse  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

    Superlative: worst  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

    Sense 1

    Meaning:

    Feeling physical discomfort or pain ('tough' is occasionally used colloquially for 'bad')play

    Example:

    he was feeling tough after a restless night

    Synonyms:

    bad; tough

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    uncomfortable (providing or experiencing physical discomfort)

    Domain usage:

    colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

    Derivation:

    badness (used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather)

    Sense 2

    Meaning:

    (of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable conditionplay

    Example:

    a refrigerator full of spoilt food

    Synonyms:

    bad; spoiled; spoilt

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    stale (lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age)

    Sense 3

    Meaning:

    Not working properlyplay

    Example:

    a defective appliance

    Synonyms:

    bad; defective

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    malfunctioning; nonfunctional (not performing or able to perform its regular function)

    Sense 4

    Meaning:

    Reproduced fraudulentlyplay

    Example:

    a forged twenty dollar bill

    Synonyms:

    bad; forged

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    counterfeit; imitative (not genuine; imitating something superior)

    Sense 5

    Meaning:

    Having undesirable or negative qualitiesplay

    Example:

    the movie was a bad choice

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    unsuitable (not conducive to good moral development)

    uncool ((spoken slang) unfashionable and boring)

    swingeing (severe; punishingly bad)

    severe (very bad in degree or extent)

    no-good; rubber (returned for lack of funds)

    pretty ((used ironically) unexpectedly bad)

    negative (having the quality of something harmful or unpleasant)

    naughty (badly behaved)

    mediocre (poor to middling in quality)

    incompetent; unskilled (not doing a good job)

    ill (distressing)

    crappy; icky; lousy; rotten; shitty; stinking; stinky (very bad)

    horrid (exceedingly bad)

    hopeless ((informal to emphasize how bad it is) beyond hope of management or reform)

    hard; tough (unfortunate or hard to bear)

    fearful; frightful (extremely distressing)

    deplorable; distressing; lamentable; pitiful; sad; sorry (bad; unfortunate)

    corked; corky ((of wine) tainted in flavor by a cork containing excess tannin)

    abominable; atrocious; awful; dreadful; painful; terrible; unspeakable (exceptionally bad or displeasing)

    Also:

    disobedient (not obeying or complying with commands of those in authority)

    evil (morally bad or wrong)

    worst ((superlative of 'bad') most wanting in quality or value or condition)

    worse ((comparative of 'bad') inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability)

    unfavorable; unfavourable (not encouraging or approving or pleasing)

    Attribute:

    quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

    Antonym:

    good (having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified)

    Derivation:

    badness (that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency)

    Sense 6

    Meaning:

    Characterized by wickedness or immoralityplay

    Example:

    led a very bad life

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    evil (morally bad or wrong)

    Derivation:

    badness (that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency)

    Sense 7

    Meaning:

    Feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undoneplay

    Example:

    he felt bad about breaking the vase

    Synonyms:

    bad; regretful; sorry

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Also:

    penitent; repentant (feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds)

    Sense 8

    Meaning:

    Capable of harmingplay

    Example:

    smoking is bad for you

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    harmful (causing or capable of causing harm)

    Sense 9

    Meaning:

    Physically unsound or diseasedplay

    Example:

    unsound teeth

    Synonyms:

    bad; unfit; unsound

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    unhealthy (not in or exhibiting good health in body or mind)

    Sense 10

    Meaning:

    Very intenseplay

    Example:

    a bad storm

    Synonyms:

    bad; big

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    intense (possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree)

    Derivation:

    badness (used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather)

    Sense 11

    Meaning:

    Not financially safe or secureplay

    Example:

    speculative business enterprises

    Synonyms:

    bad; high-risk; risky; speculative

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    unsound (not sound financially)

    Sense 12

    Meaning:

    Nonstandardplay

    Example:

    so-called bad grammar

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    nonstandard (not conforming to the language usage of a prestige group within a community)

    Domain category:

    linguistics (the scientific study of language)

    Domain usage:

    colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

    Sense 13

    Meaning:

    Below average in quality or performanceplay

    Example:

    a bad recital

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    inferior (of low or inferior quality)

    Derivation:

    badness (that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency)

    Sense 14

    Meaning:

    Not capable of being collectedplay

    Example:

    a bad (or uncollectible) debt

    Synonyms:

    bad; uncollectible

    Classified under:

    Adjectives

    Similar:

    invalid (having no cogency or legal force)

     III. (adverb) 

    Sense 1

    Meaning:

    Very much; stronglyplay

    Example:

    he wants a bicycle so bad he can taste it

    Synonyms:

    bad; badly

    Classified under:

    Adverbs

    Sense 2

    Meaning:

    With great intensity ('bad' is a nonstandard variant for 'badly')play

    Example:

    we need water bad

    Synonyms:

    bad; badly

    Classified under:

    Adverbs

    Credits

     Context examples: 

    I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse, and the whole place is in a blaze.

    (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

    But to be candid without ostentation or design—to take the good of everybody's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad—belongs to you alone.

    (Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

    “It is a bad thing to speak of, but I will answer you the truth.”

    (His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

    All things therefore seemed to point to this; that I was slowly losing hold of my original and better self, and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse.

    (The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

    I observed the doctor sniffing and sniffing, like someone tasting a bad egg.

    (Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

    The first half is the worst half, and we might cut his time if all goes well.

    (Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

    And there was Gertrude Le Boeuf, as fair a maiden as eye could see, but as bad and bitter as the rest of them.

    (The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

    Symptoms include: • Weight loss • Muscle weakness • Fatigue that gets worse over time • Low blood pressure • Patchy or dark skin

    (Addison Disease, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

    The presence of TP53 mutations indicates worse prognosis.

    (Adenocarcinoma of the Gastroesophageal Junction, NCI Thesaurus)

    Something that makes a condition worse.

    (Aggravating factor, NCI Dictionary)


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