English Dictionary

Definition of “bad”

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1bad1 (bædPronunciation for bad1) 

Definitions

adjective

Word forms: worse, worst
  1. not good; of poor quality; inadequate; inferior  ⇒ bad workmanship bad soil bad light for reading 
  2. (often foll by at) lacking skill or talent; incompetent  ⇒ a bad painter bad at sports 
  3. (often foll by for) harmful  ⇒ bad air smoking is bad for you 
  4. immoral; evil  ⇒ a bad life 
  5. naughty; mischievous; disobedient  ⇒ a bad child 
  6. rotten; decayed; spoiled  ⇒ a bad egg 
  7. severe; intense  ⇒ a bad headache 
  8. incorrect; wrong; faulty  ⇒ bad pronunciation 
  9. ill or in pain (esp in the phrase feel bad)
  10. regretful, sorry, or upset (esp in the phrase feel bad about)
  11. unfavourable; distressing  ⇒ bad news a bad business 
  12. offensive; unpleasant; disagreeable  ⇒ bad language bad temper 
  13. not valid or sound; void  ⇒ a bad cheque 
  14. not recoverable  ⇒ a bad debt 
  15. slang good; excellent
  16. See go from bad to worse
  17. See go bad
  18. See in a bad way
  19. See in someone's bad books
  20. See make the best of a bad job
  21. See not bad
  22. See not half bad
  23. See too bad

noun

  1. unfortunate or unpleasant events collectively (often in the phrase take the bad with the good)
  2. an immoral or degenerate state (often in the phrase go to the bad)
  3. the debit side of an account  ⇒ £200 to the bad 
  4. See my bad

adverb

  1. not standard badly  ⇒ to want something bad 

Alternative Forms

ˈbaddish adjective ˈbadness noun

Word Origin

C13: probably from bæd- , as the first element of Old English bǣddel  hermaphrodite, bǣdling sodomite

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= harmful, damaging, dangerous, disastrous, destructive, unhealthy, detrimental, hurtful, ruinous, deleterious, injurious, disadvantageous,
= severe, serious, terrible, acute, extreme, intense, painful, distressing, fierce, harsh,
= poor, unwise, unsound,
= unfavourable, troubling, distressing, unfortunate, grim, discouraging, unpleasant, gloomy, adverse,
= inferior, poor, inadequate, pathetic, faulty, duff, unsatisfactory, mediocre, defective, second-class, deficient, imperfect, second-rate, shoddy, low-grade, erroneous, substandard, low-rent, two-bit, crappy, end-of-the-pier poxy, dime-a-dozen piss-poor, bush-league, tinhorn, half-pie, bodger or bodgie strictly for the birds,
= incompetent, poor, useless, crap, incapable, unfit, inexpert,
= grim, severe, hard, tough, harsh, unpleasant,
= wicked, criminal, evil, corrupt, worthless, base, vile, immoral, delinquent, sinful, depraved, debased, amoral, egregious, villainous, unprincipled, iniquitous, nefarious, dissolute, maleficent,
= naughty, defiant, perverse, wayward, mischievous, wicked, unruly, impish, undisciplined, roguish, disobedient,
= foul, irritable, grotty,
= guilty, sorry, ashamed, apologetic, rueful, sheepish, contrite, remorseful, regretful, shamefaced, conscience-stricken, low, troubled, discouraged, melancholy,
= injured, damaged, diseased, hurt, sick, weak, disabled, ailing, lame, unhealthy, dicky,
= rotten, off, rank, sour, rancid, mouldy, fetid, putrid, festy,
= offensive, nasty, insulting, disgusting, crude, rude, abusive, coarse, indecent, unsavoury, objectionable, uncouth, impolite, discourteous, indelicate, uncivil, indecorous,
= null and void, false, fake, bogus, worthless, dud, counterfeit, null, not binding fallacious,

2bad2 (bædPronunciation for bad2) 

Definitions

verb

  1. a variant of bade

bade (bædPronunciation for bade;beɪdPronunciation for bade)  or bad

Definitions

verb

  1. past tense of bid

bid (bɪdPronunciation for bid) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms: bids, bidding, bad, bade, esp for senses 1, 2, 5, 7, bid, bidden, esp for senses 1, 2, 5, 7, bid
  1. for or against to offer (an amount) in attempting to buy something, esp in competition with others as at an auction
  2. business to respond to an offer by a seller by stating (the more favourable terms) on which one is willing to make a purchase
  3. (tr) to say (a greeting, blessing, etc)  ⇒ to bid farewell 
  4. to order; command  ⇒ do as you are bid! 
  5. (intr) for to attempt to attain power, etc
  6. (tr) to invite; ask kindly  ⇒ she bade him sit down 
  7. bridge to declare in the auction before play how many tricks one expects to make
  8. See bid defiance
  9. See bid fair

noun

    1. an offer of a specified amount, as at an auction
    2. the price offered
  2. business 
    1. a statement by a buyer, in response to an offer by a seller, of the more favourable terms that would be acceptable
    2. the price or other terms so stated
  3. an attempt, esp an attempt to attain power
  4. bridge 
    1. the number of tricks a player undertakes to make
    2. a player's turn to make a bid
  5. short for bid price

See also

bid in , bid up

Alternative Forms

ˈbidder noun

Word Origin

Old English biddan ; related to German bitten

Quotations

  • "When I'm good, I'm very, very good, but when I'm bad I'm better" Mae West

Translations

  • British English: bad Pronunciation for bad Something that is bad is not nice or good.The weather is bad today.bæd ADJECTIVE The weather is bad today.
  • Spanish: malo Pronunciation for malo adj mala
  • French: mauvais Pronunciation for mauvais adj
  • German: schlecht Pronunciation for schlecht adj
  • Chinese: 劣质的Pronunciation for 劣质的 adj
  • Arabic: سَيِّءPronunciation for سَيِّء adj
  • Portuguese: mauPronunciation for mau adj má
  • Russian: плохойPronunciation for плохой adj плохая
  • Croatian: lošPronunciation for loš adj loša
  • Czech: špatnýPronunciation for špatný adj
  • Danish: dårligPronunciation for dårlig adj
  • Dutch: slechtPronunciation for slecht adj
  • Finnish: huonoPronunciation for huono adj
  • Greek: κακόςPronunciation for κακός adj κακή
  • Italian: cattivoPronunciation for cattivo adj cattiva
  • Japanese: 悪いPronunciation for 悪い adj
  • Korean: 나쁜Pronunciation for 나쁜 adj
  • Norwegian: dårligPronunciation for dårlig adj
  • Polish: złyPronunciation for zły adj zła
  • Brazilian Portuguese: mauPronunciation for mau adj má
  • European Spanish: malo Pronunciation for malo adj mala
  • Swedish: dåligPronunciation for dålig adj dåligt
  • Thai: เลวPronunciation for เลว adj
  • Turkish: kötüPronunciation for kötü adj
  • Vietnamese: tồiPronunciation for tồi adj
  • British English: bad Someone who is bad does things they should not do.I'm not a bad person.bæd ADJECTIVE I'm not a bad person.
  • French: mauvais adj
  • Arabic: رَدِيء adj
  • Brazilian Portuguese: mau adj má

Usage examples

  • An earthquake would have been more welcome, since insurance was preferable to bad publicity.
    Jon Cleary, YESTERDAY'S SHADOW (2002)
  • BRISTOL FASHION Few cities have suffered more from bad local government than Bristol.
    Country Life (2004)
  • Leeds are back and jousting for a Champions League place, bad news for Newcastle and Chelsea.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • He said of the relationship between government and media:'You are not as bad as we sometimes say you are.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • I'm not allowed to express emotions good or bad like ``normal' people.
    Dorothy Rowe, BEYOND FEAR (2002)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'B'

Related Terms

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