bad
- 1Unpleasant, unfavorable, or full of problems; not what one would hope for.
The company reported a bad quarter, with profits down sharply.
We had a bad flight, with a two-hour delay and a lost bag at the end.
UsageCompares as worse and worst (not
incorrect: more bad). Not bad is mild praise, meaning fairly good.Similarunpleasant, terrible, awful, rough
- 2Of poor quality or below an acceptable standard, including faulty (a bad cable) or full of errors (bad data).
The movie got terrible reviews for its bad script and wooden acting.
He complained that the bad workmanship on the cabinets was obvious.
Similarpoor, inferior, shoddy, faulty, substandard
- 3Morally evil or wicked; given to doing wrong deliberately.
Folktales often pit a kind hero against a bad sorcerer.
My son always wants to play the bad guy who steals the treasure.
UsageIn plain moral talk it can sound simple, as in bad people or the bad guy; evil and wicked are stronger.
Similarevil, wicked, vile, immoral, vicious
Oppositegood, virtuous, moral, righteous
Note
The sense closest to the word's beginnings: Middle English bad meant "wicked, evil, depraved."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The moral sense continues Middle English bad meaning wicked, evil, or depraved. en.wiktionary.org
- 4Harmful, especially to health; likely to cause illness or other health problems.
Doctors warn that a diet high in salt is bad for the heart.
Breathing polluted air over many years can be bad for the lungs.
UsageFollowed by for: sugar is bad for your teeth, smoking is bad for you.
Similarharmful, unhealthy, damaging, detrimental, hurtful
Oppositegood, healthy, beneficial, wholesome
- 5Not suitable or appropriate for a particular situation, purpose, or standard of behavior (bad form, a bad time).
Interrupting elders was regarded as bad form in his family.
Showing up empty-handed is bad etiquette at a dinner party.
UsageSet phrases: bad form for improper behavior, and a bad time to do something.
Similarpoor, inappropriate, improper
Oppositegood, proper, appropriate
- 6Unskilled or of limited ability; not good at a particular task.
She admits she's a bad dancer with no sense of rhythm.
Being bad at math made the accounting job a daily struggle.
UsageUse bad at followed by a noun or an -ing form: bad at math, bad at drawing.
Similarincompetent, clumsy, inept, unskilled, amateurish
- 7Feeling regretful, guilty, or ashamed, typically about one's own actions.
He felt bad about leaving the party so early.
They feel bad that they couldn't help more during the move.
UsageSay feel bad about what you did, or feel bad for doing it; feel bad for a person means sympathy.
Similarguilty, sorry, ashamed, remorseful, regretful
- 8Misbehaving; acting in a mischievous or disobedient way.
Their youngest is a bad child who never sits still in class.
He decided the dog had been bad and sent it outside.
Similarnaughty, disobedient, mischievous, unruly, wayward
Oppositegood, obedient, well-behaved
- 9To a great degree; severely, intensely, or with strong desire.
He needed the job so bad he took a steep pay cut.
His back was hurting bad by the end of the move.
UsageMostly so bad after want or need: wanted it so bad. In formal writing use badly.
Similardesperately, terribly, really, severely
Note
Here the adverb measures degree, not quality. Lennon–McCartney's "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" on Abbey Road (1969) shows the classic shape: so bad after a verb of wanting. Unlike the "poorly" adverb, nothing is being done poorly; the feeling is simply intense.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- The song is credited to Lennon–McCartney. thebeatles.com
- The song appears on Abbey Road. thebeatles.com
- Abbey Road was first released in 1969. thebeatles.com
- The song's lyrics place “so bad” after “want”. thebeatles.com
- 10Something harmful or evil.
There's more good than bad in that boy, whatever the neighbors say.
She tries to see past the bad in people.
UsageMostly with the, paired with good: the good and the bad, take the bad with the good.
Oppositegood
Note
The adjective becomes a thing that can be named and set against good. Ann Belford Ulanov's Finding Space: Winnicott, God, and Psychic Reality (2001) writes of "a bad that we cannot unite with ourselves." There it takes an article like a countable noun and stands opposite God's "supergoodness."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Ann Belford Ulanov wrote Finding Space: Winnicott, God, and Psychic Reality. myunion.utsnyc.edu
- The book's first edition was published in 2001. openlibrary.org
- The quoted wording is attributed to Ulanov's book, page 59, where “a bad” is contrasted with God idealized as “supergoodness”. en.wiktionary.org
- 11Not valid or good for payment: of money, counterfeit; of a check, not covered by funds; of a debt, unlikely to be repaid.
The landlord was furious when the rent check came back bad.
She faced fees for writing bad checks two months in a row.
UsageCommon in bad check and bad debt; a check can also come back bad.
Similarworthless, counterfeit
Oppositegood
Less common meanings
- 12
- 13An error or mistake, used after a possessive word such as my or your.
My bad, I thought the meeting started at ten.
The ref waved off the goal, then shrugged and admitted it was his bad.
UsageMostly as My bad! for a small slip; your bad blames someone else. Too casual for formal apologies.
Note
Mostly heard as the stand-alone apology my bad, a casual way to own up to a small slip; Mitch Albom's Fab Five (1993) has a player shouting it.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Mitch Albom wrote Fab Five. hachettebookgroup.com
- Fab Five was first published in 1993. mitchalbom.com
- The book depicts a player shouting “my bad.” en.wiktionary.org
- 14An exclamation used to scold a misbehaving child or pet.
Bad! Get off the couch this instant!
Bad! We do not bite people in this house!
UsageCan stand alone or come before a command: Bad! Get off the couch!
Similarno
Oppositegood
Note
A one-word scolding, said to a child or a pet caught in the act. It is the exclamation form of the "misbehaving" sense, with the sentence around it stripped away.
- 15Excellent, impressive, or cool.
That guitar solo was bad, man; nobody else in town can play like that.
That skater is bad; he makes the hardest tricks look easy.
UsageIts comparison forms are badder and baddest. Tone carries the praise, so keep it to casual talk.
Similarexcellent, awesome, great, fantastic, cool
Note
Amelioration at its most direct: the slang reverses the word's meaning outright, and speakers know it. Darryl McDaniels and Joseph Simmons spell it out in "Peter Piper" (1986), making clear that the word is meant as praise rather than in its old sense.
- 16In poor health or unwell, or looking ill or tired.
The old man had been bad for months, confined to his bed.
By winter she was so bad that she could hardly climb the stairs without resting.
UsageSet phrases: in a bad way and in a bad state, which sound graver than feeling unwell.
Similarill, sick, unwell, poorly
Note
With a body part, as in a bad back, it shades into the injured-limb meaning, where one part is singled out as the weak one.
- 17
- 18Severe or urgent, describing a need, want, or pain.
He was in bad need of rest after the long shift.
A bad ache spread across her shoulders by evening.
UsageSet phrase: in bad need of + noun, as in in bad need of a haircut; badly in need of means the same.
Similarurgent, severe, dire, acute, pressing
Note
A sense defined by what it describes: needs, wants and pains. In the song "Hurt So Bad" (1964), the word follows the verb and works more like the intensifying adverb. The severity has slid from describing the pain to describing how much it hurts.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- There is a song titled "Hurt So Bad". en.wikipedia.org
- 19
- 20Bold, daring, and tough.
With his scarred knuckles and steady stare, he was one bad dude nobody wanted to cross.
Everyone at the skate park agreed she was the baddest rider there, landing tricks nobody else would try.
UsageCompares as badder and baddest: the baddest guy in town. Often one bad dude.
Similarbold, daring, fearless, courageous, gutsy
Note
Toughness turned into a compliment: this slang flips disapproval into admiration for someone bold and hard to cross.
- 21Having an unpleasant or foul smell.
My brother always has bad breath in the morning until he brushes his teeth.
A bad stench rose from the stagnant pond behind the barn.
UsageAfter smell, use the adjective: it smells bad (not
incorrect: smells badly). Set phrase: bad breath.Similarsmelly, foul-smelling, stinky, malodorous, fetid
- 22Of words, speech, or writing, vulgar, obscene, or blasphemous.
He got suspended for shouting bad words at the umpire.
The station bleeped out the bad language before the interview aired.
UsageSet phrases: bad language and bad words, plain ways to name swearing.
Similarfoul, obscene, vulgar, crude, dirty
Oppositeclean
- 23Very attractive; sexy.
Have you seen his new girlfriend? She's bad, with a model's face and a smile that stops traffic.
When her date showed up in a crisp white shirt, her friend leaned over and whispered, 'Girl, he is bad. Where did you find him?'
Similarhot, sexy, gorgeous, fine
Oppositeunattractive, ugly
Note
Another approving reversal, this one about looks. It is applied to a woman and comes originally from African-American Vernacular English before spreading as general slang.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The sense meaning sexually attractive originated in African-American Vernacular English. en.wiktionary.org
- 24Used without a linking verb to mock people who oppose something they do not actually understand.
Their argument amounted to immigration bad and little else.
Every reply boiled down to technology bad, with no evidence behind it.
UsagePut straight after a noun with no verb: vaccines bad. Used of others' views; in careful prose it reads as a sneer.
Note
The mockery here is done by grammar: a noun followed straight by the adjective, with no is between them, as in Orange Man bad, USA bad, tiktok bad. Dropping the verb is the joke, because it shrinks someone's position to a slogan they supposedly cannot get past.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The omitted linking verb in Orange Man bad is deliberate and contributes to the mockery. en.wiktionary.org
- 25Not worth the cost, effort, or trouble involved.
Renovating the flooded basement proved a bad investment.
Driving two hours to save just five dollars was a bad trade-off.
Similarpoor, unwise, unprofitable
Oppositegood, worthwhile, profitable, wise
- 26Feeling sympathy for someone because of the troubles they are going through, usually in the phrase "feel bad for someone."
I really feel bad for the families who lost their homes in the fire.
She felt bad for the new hire, who had been handed the hardest account on his first day.
UsageUse feel bad for someone for sympathy. Feel bad about something can express guilt, sadness, or sympathy, depending on context.
Similarsorry
- 27Sexually loose or ready to sleep with many partners.
- 28Appealing because of a defiant, rule-breaking attitude.
- 29In economics, a product or thing that people would pay to be rid of, such as waste or pollution, the opposite of a good.
- 30A former past tense form of bid, now usually spelled bade.
- 31To remove the green outer husk from a walnut.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English bad, badde ("wicked, evil"), of uncertain origin. It may be a shortening of Old English bæddel, a word for an effeminate man or intersex person, or a loan from Old Norse; compare Norwegian and East Danish words meaning trouble or damage.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Bad descends from Middle English bad, badde, meaning wicked or evil. en.wiktionary.org
- The word's earlier origin is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
- A proposed origin is a shortening of Old English bæddel. en.wiktionary.org
- Bæddel referred to an effeminate man or an intersex person. en.wiktionary.org
- An Old Norse loan is proposed, but the words cited with these meanings are Norwegian bad and East Danish bad, rather than identified Old Norse words. en.wiktionary.org