Word definition: bad

Etimology


From Middle English bad, badde (“wicked, evil, depraved”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a shortening of Old English bæddel (“hermaphrodite”) (for loss of -el compare Middle English muche from Old English myċel, and Middle English wenche from Old English wenċel), or at least related to it and/or to bǣ̆dan (“to defile”), compare Old High German pad (“hermaphrodite”). Alternatively, perhaps a loan from Old Norse into Middle English, compare Norwegian bad (“effort, trouble, fear”, neuter noun), East Danish bad (“damage, destruction, fight”, neuter noun), from the Proto-Germanic noun *badą, whence also Proto-Germanic *badōną (“to frighten”), Old Saxon undarbadōn (“to frighten”), Norwegian Nynorsk bada (“to weigh down, press”).

adjective


bad (comparative worse or (nonstandard) badder or (nonstandard) more bad, superlative worst or (nonstandard) baddest or (nonstandard) most bad)

Unfavorable; negative; not good.

Not suitable or fitting.

Not appropriate, of manners etc.

Unhealthy; liable to cause health problems.

(chiefly applied to a person's state of health) Sickly, unhealthy, unwell.

(often childish) Not behaving; behaving badly; misbehaving; mischievous or disobedient.

Tricky; stressful; unpleasant.

(sometimes childish) Evil; wicked.

Faulty; not functional.

(of food) Spoiled, rotten, overripe.

(of breath) Malodorous; foul.

False; counterfeit; illegitimate.

Unskilled; of limited ability; not good.

Of poor physical appearance.

(informal) Bold and daring.

(slang) Good, superlative, excellent, cool.

(of a need, want, or pain) Severe, urgent.

(US, slang) Overly promiscuous, licentious.

(originally African-American Vernacular, slang, of a woman) Very attractive; hot, sexy.

(slang, of a draft/check) Not covered by funds on account.

Examples


Synonyms: unfavorable, negative; see also Thesaurus:bad

Hiring practice is very bad in this company.

The weather looks pretty bad right now.

He is in a bad mood.

You have very bad grades.

He looked round the poor room, at the distempered walls, and the bad engravings in meretricious frames, the crinkly paper and wax flowers on the chiffonier; and he thought of a room like Father Bryan's, with panelling, with cut glass, with tulips in silver pots, such a room as he had hoped to have for his own.

Synonyms: inappropriate, unfit; see also Thesaurus:unsuitable

Do you think it is a bad idea to confront him directly?

It is bad manners to talk with your mouth full.

“ […] if you call my duds a ‘livery’ again there'll be trouble. It's bad enough to go around togged out like a life saver on a drill day, but I can stand that 'cause I'm paid for it. What I won't stand is to have them togs called a livery. […] ”

Synonyms: unhealthful, unwholesome; see also Thesaurus:harmful

Lard is bad for you. Smoking is bad for you, too. Grapes are bad for dogs but not for humans.

Synonyms: ill, poorly, sickly; see also Thesaurus:ill

Joe's in a bad way; he can't even get out of bed.

I went to the hospital to see how my grandfather was doing. Unfortunately, he's in a bad state.

I've had a bad back since the accident.

Stop being bad, or you will get a spanking!

I can tell that new kid at our daycare is trouble […] He's picking out his favorite corner to stand in when he's bad.

Synonyms: foul, loathsome; see also Thesaurus:unpleasant

Divorce is usually a bad experience for everybody involved.

Synonyms: vile, vicious; see also Thesaurus:evil

Be careful. There are bad people in the world.

Synonyms: inoperative; see also Thesaurus:out of order

I had a bad headlight.

Synonyms: rotten; see also Thesaurus:rotten

These apples have gone bad.

Synonyms: see Thesaurus:malodorous

Bad breath is not pleasant for anyone.

Synonyms: fake, spurious; see also Thesaurus:fake

They were caught trying to pass bad coinage.

Synonyms: bungling, inept; see also Thesaurus:unskilled

I'm pretty bad at speaking French.

He's a bad gardener; everything he tries to grow ends up dying.

Synonyms: repulsive, unsightly; see also Thesaurus:ugly

I look really bad whenever I get less than seven hours of sleep.

I don't look bad in this dress, do I?

Synonyms: badass; see also Thesaurus:brave

Synonyms: see Thesaurus:good

Man, that new car you bought is bad!

You is bad, man!

He's the big bad wolf in your neighborhood / not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good

Man, that bitch was bad—it was the best piece of pussy that I ever had.

Synonyms: dire; see also Thesaurus:urgent

He is in bad need of a haircut.

Oh let me tell you that it / Hurts so bad / It makes me feel so sad / You make it hurt so bad / To see you again.

Synonyms: see Thesaurus:promiscuous

You leave your girl around me; if she's bad she's gonna get stuck.

Hopefully I can pull some bad bitches tonight.

Synonyms: rubber, hot

He gave me a bad check.

Related words


synonyms

abandoned

abominable

base

corrupt

deficient

detestable

disgusting

inferior

lousy

off

poor

punk

substandard

unacceptable

ungodly

unsatisfactory

vicious

wanting

wretched

wrong

antonyms

adequate

advantageous

beneficial

benevolent

choice

competent

excellent

exceptional

first-class

first-rate

good

honest

just

premium

prime

profitable

propitious

reputable

right

sincere

sufficient

superior

true

upright

virtuous

worthy

adverb


bad (comparative worse, superlative worst)

(now colloquial) Badly; poorly.

(intensifier) Badly; severely, extremely, passionately, eagerly.

Examples


I didn't do too bad in the last exam.

He is quite bad off now that both his parents lost their jobs.

I want you / I want you so bad, it's driving me mad

noun


bad (plural bads)

Something that is bad; a harm or evil.

(slang, with possessive determiner) Error; mistake.

(countable, uncountable, economics) An item (or kind of item) of merchandise with negative value; an unwanted good.

Examples


We idealize God as supergoodness in order to protect against a bad that we cannot unite with ourselves.

"My bad, My bad!” Juwan yelled, scowling

“Chico, you're late again.” I turned around and stared him in his beady eyes. “I missed my bus. My bad, Donald.” “Your bad? Your bad? What kind of English is that?

Teresa broke out in laughter. “Dang, I sound like I'm talking to my man.” “I tried your cell phone, but you didn't answer.” “I left it at home, Friday. My bad.” “Yeah, your bad.” I laughed. “Really, I'm sorry. It won't happen again.

Imports are an economic good but exports an economic bad. Exports must be produced but are enjoyed by foreign consumers.

An economic bad is anything that you would pay to get rid of. It is not so hard to think of examples of bads: pollution, garbage, and disease fit the description.

interjection


bad

Used to scold a misbehaving child or pet.

Examples


Bad! You know you're not allowed in the kitchen after dinner.

Etimology


From Middle English bad, from Old English bæd, first and third-person singular indicative past tense of biddan (“to ask”).

verb


bad

(archaic) alternative past of bid. See bade.

Etimology


Unknown

verb


bad (third-person singular simple present bads, present participle badding, simple past and past participle badded)

(Britain, dialect, transitive) To shell (a walnut).

Examples


A curious specimen of Gloucestershire dialect came out in an assault case heard by the Gloucester court magistrates on Saturday. One of the witnesses, speaking of what a girl was doing at the time the assault took place, said she was ‘badding’ walnuts in a pigstye. The word is peculiarly provincial: to ‘bad’ walnuts is to strip away the husk. The walnut, too, is often called a ‘bannut,’ and hence the old Gloucestershire phrase, ‘Come an’ bad the bannuts.’

Data provided by Wiktionary