INDEX:
1. not good at doing something
2. very bad at doing something
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ GOOD AT
see also
↑ BAD
↑ CAN/CAN'T
↑ CARELESS
↑ FAIL
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1. not good at doing something
▷ bad /bæd/ [adjective]
not able to do something well, for example a job, sport, or activity :
▪ He’s the worst driver I’ve ever seen.
▪ Critics blame the students’ poor test performances on bad teaching.
bad at
▪ I was always really bad at French!
bad at doing something
▪ I’m very bad at remembering people’s names.
▷ badly /ˈbædli/ [adverb]
if you do something badly, you do it carelessly, not skilfully, or you do it in the wrong way :
▪ Adams admitted that he had played badly.
▪ The company had been badly managed from the start.
▪ Lorna speaks Spanish so badly that no one in our class can understand her.
▷ not very good also not much good British /ˌnɒt veri ˈgʊd, ˌnɒt mʌtʃ ˈgʊd/ [adjective phrase not before noun] especially spoken
not able to do something well :
not very good at
▪ I’m afraid I’m not very good at math.
▪ I’m not much good at speeches but I’ll do my best.
not very good at doing something
▪ She’s not very good at communicating with other people.
▪ He has never been much good at dealing with people.
not very well
▪ ‘Do you play the piano?’ ‘Yes, but not very well.’
not very good as
▪ She’s a nice person, but not much good as a boss.
▷ no good at something /nəʊ ˈgʊd ət something/ spoken
bad at a skill or activity :
▪ I’m no good at tennis.
▪ Cait freely admits that she’s no good at anything except singing.
no good at doing something
▪ Leo’s no good at lying -- his face always turns red when he’s not telling the truth.
▷ second-rate/third-rate /ˌsekənd ˈreɪt◂, ˌθɜːʳd ˈreɪt◂/ [adjective]
not very good, especially not as good as other people who do the same thing :
▪ She’s a second-rate singer.
▪ We spent the evening listening to third-rate writers read their poetry in a seedy nightclub.
▷ weak/poor /wiːk, pʊəʳ/ [adjective]
not having much ability or skill in a particular activity or subject :
▪ This is Boston’s weakest team in years.
▪ When managers’ leadership skills are poor, productivity suffers.
▪ I wouldn’t trust her. She’s always been a poor judge of character.
weak/poor at science/history etc
▪ She’s weak at mathematics, and this affects her physics results as well.
2. very bad at doing something
▷ terrible/awful/hopeless /ˈterɪb ə l, ˈterəb ə l, ˈɔːf ə l, ˈhəʊpləs/ also useless British /ˈjuːsləs/ [adjective]
very bad at doing something, or doing something very badly :
▪ Poor Daniel. He loves football but he’s a terrible player.
▪ She’ll never pass the exam -- she’s an awful student.
▪ Make sure you bring a map -- Erin has a hopeless sense of direction.
terrible/awful/hopeless at
▪ My brother’s a computer genius but he’s useless at everything else.
terrible/awful/hopeless at doing something
▪ The manager made John a barman as he was obviously hopeless at waiting on tables.
▷ lousy /ˈlaʊzi/ [adjective] especially spoken
very bad at doing something :
▪ I’m such a lousy cook that I usually eat out.
lousy at
▪ I was lousy at biology in school.
▷ pathetic /pəˈθetɪk/ [adjective]
use this about someone who is so bad at doing something that you have no respect for them :
▪ She’s clever, but as a teacher she’s pathetic.
▪ I can’t believe we wasted our money on that pathetic comedian last night.
▷ incompetent /ɪnˈkɒmpɪtənt, ɪnˈkɒmpətəntǁ-ˈkɑːm-/ [adjective]
use this about someone who cannot do their job at all and should not be doing it :
▪ This government is totally incompetent.
▪ Legislators are planning a new bill that will protect patients from incompetent doctors.
▷ can’t do something to save your life /ˌkɑːnt duː something tə ˌseɪv jɔːʳ ˈlaɪfǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase] informal
to be very bad at something even though you would like to be able to do it properly :
can’t draw/paint/cook/act etc to save your life
▪ Adrian can’t draw to save his life.
▪ You don’t expect me to take part in the play, do you? I can’t act to save my life.
▪ The truth is I couldn’t write poetry to save my life.