bad 1
— badness , n.
/bad/ , adj., worse, worst; ( Slang ) badder, baddest for 36; n.; adv.
adj.
1. not good in any manner or degree.
2. having a wicked or evil character; morally reprehensible: There is no such thing as a bad boy.
3. of poor or inferior quality; defective; deficient: a bad diamond; a bad spark plug.
4. inadequate or below standard; not satisfactory for use: bad heating; Living conditions in some areas are very bad.
5. inaccurate, incorrect, or faulty: a bad guess.
6. invalid, unsound, or false: a bad insurance claim; bad judgment.
7. causing or liable to cause sickness or ill health; injurious or harmful: Too much sugar is bad for your teeth.
8. suffering from sickness, ill health, pain, or injury; sick; ill: He felt bad from eating the green apples.
9. not healthy or in good physical condition; diseased, decayed, or physically weakened: A bad heart kept him out of the army.
10. tainted, spoiled, or rotten, esp. to the point of being inedible: The meat is bad because you left it out of the refrigerator too long.
11. having a disastrous or detrimental effect, result, or tendency; unfavorable: The drought is bad for the farmers. His sloppy appearance made a bad impression.
12. causing or characterized by discomfort, inconvenience, uneasiness, or annoyance; disagreeable; unpleasant: I had a bad flight to Chicago.
13. easily provoked to anger; irascible: a bad temper.
14. cross, irritable, or surly: If I don't have my morning coffee, I'm in a bad mood all day.
15. more uncomfortable, persistent, painful, or dangerous than usual; severe: a bad attack of asthma.
16. causing or resulting in disaster or severe damage or destruction: a bad flood.
17. regretful, contrite, dejected, or upset: He felt bad about having to leave the children all alone.
18. disobedient, naughty, or misbehaving: If you're bad at school, you'll go to bed without supper.
19. disreputable or dishonorable: He's getting a bad name from changing jobs so often.
20. displaying a lack of skill, talent, proficiency, or judgment: a bad painting; Bad drivers cause most of the accidents.
21. causing distress; unfortunate or unfavorable: I'm afraid I have bad news for you.
22. not suitable or appropriate; disadvantageous or dangerous: It was a bad day for fishing.
23. inclement; considered too stormy, hot, cold, etc.: We had a bad winter with a lot of snow.
24. disagreeable or offensive to the senses: a bad odor.
25. exhibiting a lack of artistic sensitivity: The room was decorated in bad taste.
26. not in keeping with a standard of behavior or conduct; coarse: bad manners.
27. (of a word, speech, or writing)
a. vulgar, obscene, or blasphemous: bad language.
b. not properly observing rules or customs of grammar, usage, spelling, etc.; incorrect: He speaks bad English.
28. unattractive, esp. because of a lack of pleasing proportions: She has a bad figure.
29. (of the complexion) marred by defects; pockmarked or pimply; blemished: bad skin.
30. not profitable or worth the price paid: The land was a bad buy.
31. Com. deemed uncollectible or irrecoverable and treated as a loss: a bad debt.
32. ill-spent; wasted: Don't throw good money after bad money.
33. counterfeit; not genuine: There was a bad ten-dollar bill in with the change.
34. having the character of a villain; villainous: In the movies the good guys always beat the bad guys.
35. Sports. failing to land within the in-bounds limits of a court or section of a court; missing the mark; not well aimed.
36. Slang. outstandingly excellent; first-rate: He's a bad man on drums, and the fans love him.
37. in a bad way, in severe trouble or distress.
38. not bad ,
a. tolerably good; not without merit: The dinner wasn't bad, but I've had better.
b. not difficult: Once you know geometry, trigonometry isn't bad. Also, not so bad, not too bad .
39. too bad , unfortunate or disappointing: It's too bad that he didn't go to college.
n.
40. that which is bad: You have to take the bad with the good.
41. a bad condition, character, or quality: His health seemed to go from bad to worse.
42. ( used with a pl. v. ) evil persons collectively (usually prec. by the ): The bad are always stirring up trouble.
43. go to the bad , to deteriorate physically or morally; go to ruin: She wept at seeing her son go to the bad.
44. in bad , Informal.
a. in trouble or distress.
b. in disfavor: He's in bad with his father-in-law.
45. to the bad , in arrears: He's $100 to the bad on his debt.
46. my bad , My fault! My mistake!
adv. Informal.
47. badly: He wanted it bad enough to steal it.
48. bad off , in poor or distressed condition or circumstances; destitute: His family has been pretty bad off since he lost his job. Also, badly off . Cf. well-off .
[ 1250-1300; ME badde, perh. akin to OE baeddel hermaphrodite, baedling womanish man ]
Syn. 2. depraved, corrupt, base, sinful, criminal, atrocious. BAD, EVIL, ILL, WICKED are closest in meaning in reference to that which is lacking in moral qualities or is actually vicious and reprehensible. BAD is the broadest and simplest term: a bad man; bad habits. EVIL applies to that which violates or leads to the violation of moral law: evil practices. ILL now appears mainly in certain fixed expressions, with a milder implication than that in evil: ill will; ill-natured. WICKED implies willful and determined doing of what is very wrong: a wicked plan. 10. putrefied. 21. adverse, unlucky, unhappy.
Usage . The adjective BAD meaning "unpleasant, unattractive, unfavorable, spoiled, etc.," is the usual form to follow such copulative verbs as sound, smell, look, and taste: After the rainstorm the water tasted bad. The coach says the locker room smells bad. After the copulative verb feel, the adjective BADLY in reference to physical or emotional states is also used and is standard, although BAD is more common in formal writing: I feel bad from overeating. She felt badly about her friend's misfortune.
When the adverbial use is required, BADLY is standard with all verbs: She reacted badly to the criticism. BAD as an adverb appears mainly in informal contexts: I didn't do too bad on the tests. He wants money so bad it hurts. See also badly, good .
bad 2
/bad/ , v. Archaic.
a pt. of bid .