The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - badly adv.

1) poorly, defectively, insufficiently, inadequately, unsatisfactorily, carelessly, ineptly, shoddily, inadequately, deficiently: We lived in a badly furnished flat in the East End. 2) unfortunately, unluckily, unsuccessfully, unfavourably, poorly: These are an improvement on the former rules, which worked badly. 3) incorrectly, faultily, defectively, poorly, improperly, inaccurately, erroneously, unacceptably; ineptly, inartistically, amateurishly, awfully: He speaks English badly. He sings badly. 4) immorally, wickedly, viciously, mischievously, naughtily, shamefully, improperly, villainously: The school has had its share of badly behaved pupils. 5) dangerously, severely, gravely, critically, grievously, seriously: Her father was badly wounded in the war. 6) unkindly, cruelly, harshly, severely, wretchedly, dreadfully, improperly, atrociously, horribly, unspeakably: The prisoners were treated so badly that few survived. 7) unfavourably, damagingly, critically: Even her friends spoke badly of her. 8) very much, greatly, seriously: Peter is badly in need of extra money. 9) distressfully, emotionally, hard: He took the news badly.