I.
archaic
past of bid
or of bide
II. ˈbad, -aa(ə)d, -aid adjective
( worse ˈwərs, -ə̄s, -əis ; also sometimes badder also nonstandard wors·er -sə(r) ; worst ˈwərst, -ə̄st, -əist ; also sometimes baddest )
Etymology: Middle English badde; probably akin to Old English bǣddel hermaphrodite, bǣdan to defile
1.
a. : failing to come up to or achieve a certain standard : failing to display or attain the worth, quality, shape, or appearance proper or appropriate to its type or species : poor , worthless , blemished
a bad car
a bad complexion
a bad book
a bad repair job
b. : unfavorable or derogatory in significance or tendency
made a bad impression on the examiners
had bad reports about his conduct
youthful escapades gave him a bad name
: marked by unfavorable or unfortunate events, trends, or occurences
a bad year for Rome — Robert Graves
: contrary to expectations or hopes : inauspicious
the messenger brought bad news
regard the present as a bad time to buy durable consumer goods — S.H.Slichter
c. : decayed, rotten , spoiled
meat has gone bad
d. : dilapidated , run-down
a farmhouse in a bad state
2.
a. : having an evil, depraved, or vicious character or tendency
a thoroughly bad man, without a trace of feeling or conscience
a bad book, sowing harmful deluding ideas
: immoral
gossip had it that she was a bad girl
b. : mischievous , intractable , disobedient
a bad child
3.
a. : inadequate or unsuited to its purpose : unsatisfactory
a bad plan
a bad light to read by
b. : unsuccessful or unprofitable especially on account of a lack (as of good judgment or skill
a bad buy
a bad investment
a bad shot
: displaying or revealing poor judgment or lack of skill
a wild golf shot caused by bad timing on the down stroke
4.
a.
(1) : offensive or painful to one's senses : disagreeable , displeasing , unpleasant
a bad smell
a bad taste
(2) : causing or attended by sensations of discomfort or unease
spent a few bad minutes waiting for the jury's decision
b. of language : improper , blasphemous
scolded the boy for using bad language
5.
a. : inimical to welfare : injurious , deleterious , harmful
too close reading is often bad for the eyes
a climate bad for the health
b. : severe or distressing especially more so than is usual or customary
a bad cold
a bad shock
c. : disastrous , calamitous
a bad train wreck
a bad forest fire
d. : causing or offering difficulty
as languages go, I'd say Japanese isn't bad — Bernard Bloch
we went up the Elena Glacier … and found it as bad as we had feared — D.L.Busk
6. : incorrect , faulty , substandard
bad grammar
conduct in the worst taste
7.
a. : in pain or discomfort : ill , sick
bad with fever
the cold made him feel generally bad
b. : diseased , unhealthy , deficient
bad teeth
a bad constitution
8.
a. : sorrowful , downcast , dejected
feel bad at the death of a friend
b. : sorry , regretful , remorseful
feel bad about slighting a friend
c. of a person's character or disposition : irritable , cross , surly
everybody was in a bad humor except the chief — Dashiell Hammett
9.
a. : not legally good : invalid , void
a bad claim
b. of a debt : not collectible
c. of a check : issued without sufficient funds in the bank to cover
d. in games : foul : not counted or counted against a player according to the rules
a bad tennis shot falling several feet outside the base line
Synonyms:
ill , evil , wicked , naughty : bad , a very general term, applies to anything or anyone reprehensible, for whatever reason and to whatever degree
Svengali walking up and down the earth seeking whom he might cheat, betray, exploit, borrow money from, make brutal fun of, bully if he dared, cringe to if he must — man, woman, child, or dog — was about as bad as they make 'em — George du Maurier
that bad man in one of his raving outbursts threatened us with a terrifying increase in the numbers and activities of his U-boats … — Sir Winston Churchill
she often stole little foods from the table and … ate them at odd hours of the night, with the pleased expression of a bad child — Sinclair Lewis
ill may imply vice or malevolence
it was ill counsel had misled the girl — Alfred Tennyson
the far results of an ill deed involve the innocent with the guilty — H.O.Taylor
evil often adds the sinister to the reprehensible
who attended him as his shadow and his evil genius — a confidential colleague who betrayed his confidence, mocked his projects, derided his authority — J.L.Motley
the evil counselors who … abused his youth — J.R.Green
an evil and treacherous folk, and they lied and murdered for gold — William Morris
wicked usually implies severe moral reprehensibility
the wicked sorcerers who have done people to death by their charms — J.G.Frazer
It may also suggest malevolence or malice
this injury … has rankled in his wicked, scheming brain, and all his life he has longed for vengeance — A. Conan Doyle
naughty generally applies to trivial misbehavior of children
Charles never was a naughty boy. He never robbed birds' nests, or smoked behind the barn, or played marbles on Sunday — Margaret Deland
Sometimes it suggests reprehensibility in a light and playful way
can't I be a naughty little thing? — J.M.Cain
the still popular, and still naughty, and perpetually profane Decameron — Gilbert Highet
•
- in a bad way
- too bad
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English badde, from badde, adjective
1.
a. : something that is bad
the bad or good I say of myself I say of them — Walt Whitman
b. : the bad part or portion of something
the good in him was at constant variance with the bad
2. : an evil, unhappy, or degenerate state
from bad to worse
he went to the bad early in life
•
- in bad
IV. adverb
( worse “ ; worst “)
Etymology: bad (II)
1. : badly
want something bad enough to fight for it
the man was not doing so bad despite handicaps
the Americans didn't know how bad off they were until daylight — E.J.Kahn
2. substandard : severely , seriously
in the fight he was roughed up bad and ended in the hospital
mess up a plan real bad
being bad sick — James Jones
put his fist through a window and cut it up bad
V. adjective
( badder ; baddest )
slang
1. : good : great
one of the baddest songwriters to be found anywhere — Black Collegian
2. : tough 8