bad
Usage
What are other ways to say bad?
When describing things that are lacking in moral qualities or are actually vicious and reprehensible, bad is the broadest and simplest term: a bad man; bad habits. Evil applies to that which violates or leads to the violation of moral law: evil practices. Ill now appears mainly in certain fixed expressions, with a milder implication than that in evil: ill will; ill-natured. Wicked implies willful and determined doing of what is very wrong: a wicked plan.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I wasn't here when it was difficult for Everton, when things were bad," said Toffees boss David Moyes.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
If this were a sitcom— and it feels like a bad one — we would now hear a laugh track followed by groans.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
This week the Tampa Bay Rays rolled into big, bad Yankee Stadium, put their feet on the couch, and swept the passive, punchless Pinstripes out of the postseason.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Chinese AI cybersecurity tool Artex said it stopped programmers from accessing its source code, acknowledging misuse by "bad actors" after South Korea linked it to several recent bank hacks.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
"Our great Hippocrates, the father of medicine, says that a bellyful is bad, and if it is a bellyful of partridges, it is worse."
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
At least half of the species landed by the assessed fishmeal vessels are classified by scientific studies as “overexploited” or worse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
The pollution from the chimneys is worse at night, locals insist, when the smoke cannot be so clearly seen.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
You didn’t need nine hours of talk radio to absorb it: These Patriots were overrated, these Patriots were regressing, these Patriots were staring at a season they could be worse than the freaking Jets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
"When you played the Broad footage in ultra-motion, it looked worse than it was," says Naicker.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
To make things worse, he squirmed his rear end around until his tail was hanging over the back of the spring seat.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Malaysia closed schools in Kuala Lumpur and other parts of the country on Friday, as haze from fires in neighbouring Indonesia again plunged local air quality to among the world's worst.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
We design our standards to ensure no one will lose; we preoccupy ourselves more with the comfort of the worst than the potential of the best.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
He arrived at that rate by calculating the lowest inflation-adjusted withdrawal rate that could nevertheless have been sustained by a 50% stock/50% bond portfolio in the worst 30-year period in U.S. history.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
And we will be fooled into believing that’s the best, or worst, thing comedy has to offer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
“No. I’m asking about chemistry because you mentioned it was your worst subject. I told you that calculus was mine. Remember?”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Vocabulary lists containing bad
