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:
The manosphere is "as bad as smoking", reports the Metro, quoting new research from the gender equality institute Global 50/50.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Vantara's first animal, in 2009, was Gauri, an Asian elephant used for begging in Rajasthan whose condition was "very bad", keeper Kailash Nayak said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
The good parts of AB InBev’s business are continuing to do well while the bad parts are still struggling, analyst James Edwardes Jones at RBC Capital Markets wrote in a note following the update.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
It’s not that Schoenbrun is bad at making movies, but their mind seems to operate like a story map, with hundreds of red strings pinned between plot points.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026
‘I don’t know. Maybe a doorway to the Otherworld. It must be bad, for someone to have carved that hand.’
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
For now there’s little sign to suggest the economy will take a notable turn for the worse.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
"We are distributing it, especially to be taken to the accident site where people are in worse condition."
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
"We fear these elections could bring an even worse leader," said Huda al-Houli, a displaced resident of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
The crowd problems only get worse around the holidays, she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
He came out of the mess worse than Grandpa and I did.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
No. 16 USC sees its playoff hopes take a serious hit in a 24-7 loss to Wisconsin following what was arguably the Trojans’ worst performance of the season on offense.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Google’s stock suffered its worst day on record Thursday as investors confronted the reality that a company that has long been a dynamo of growth and profits faces painful trade-offs from the artificial-intelligence transition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
"The worst one was when a van with a cherry picker got stuck under it, it took four to five hours to get it out," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
On a 10-year view, the difference between buying into the S&P 500 at the best time and buying into it at the worst time was worth an astonishing 25% per year.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
I rigged a snow shelter and made a lean-to with a tarp and dug snow caves for the dogs and we holed up to wait until the worst of the cold had passed.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
Vocabulary lists containing bad
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