noun
- That which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency.
- usage: "take the bad with the good"
- synonyms: badness
adjective
- Having undesirable or negative qualities.
- usage: "a bad report card"; "his sloppy appearance made a bad impression"; "a bad little boy"; "clothes in bad shape"; "a bad cut"; "bad luck"; "the news was very bad"; "the reviews were bad"; "the pay is bad"; "it was a bad light for reading"; "the movie was a bad choice"
- Very intense.
- usage: "a bad headache"; "in a big rage"; "had a big (or bad) shock"; "a bad earthquake"; "a bad storm"
- synonyms: big
- Feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad'. )
- usage: "my throat feels bad"; "she felt bad all over"; "he was feeling tough after a restless night"
- synonyms: tough
- Of foodstuffs. ( not in an edible or usable condition)
- usage: "bad meat"; "a refrigerator full of spoilt food"
- Feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone.
- usage: "felt regretful over his vanished youth"; "regretful over mistakes she had made"; "he felt bad about breaking the vase"
- Not capable of being collected.
- usage: "a bad (or uncollectible) debt"
- synonyms: uncollectible
- Below average in quality or performance.
- usage: "a bad chess player"; "a bad recital"
- Nonstandard.
- usage: "so-called bad grammar"
- Not financially safe or secure.
- usage: "a bad investment"; "high risk investments"; "anything that promises to pay too much can't help being risky"; "speculative business enterprises"
- synonyms: risky, high-risk, speculative
- Physically unsound or diseased.
- usage: "has a bad back"; "a bad heart"; "bad teeth"; "an unsound limb"; "unsound teeth"
- Capable of harming.
- usage: "bad air"; "smoking is bad for you"
- Characterized by wickedness or immorality.
- usage: "led a very bad life"
- Reproduced fraudulently.
- usage: "like a bad penny..."; "a forged twenty dollar bill"
- synonyms: forged
- Not working properly.
- usage: "a bad telephone connection"; "a defective appliance"
- synonyms: defective
adverb
- With great intensity (`bad' is a nonstandard variant for `badly'. )
- usage: "the injury hurt badly"; "the buildings were badly shaken"; "it hurts bad"; "we need water bad"
- synonyms: badly
- Very much; strongly.
- usage: "I wanted it badly enough to work hard for it"; "the cables had sagged badly"; "they were badly in need of help"; "he wants a bicycle so bad he can taste it"
- synonyms: badly
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). bad. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/bad/definitions/1168905 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "bad" http://smartdefine.org/bad/definitions/1168905 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, bad, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/bad/definitions/1168905>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "bad" 23 October 2010. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/bad/definitions/1168905> |