bæd adj., n., & adv. --adj. (worse; worst) 1
inferior,
inadequate,
defective (bad
work; a bad
driver; bad light). 2 a
unpleasant,
unwelcome (bad
weather; bad news). b
unsatisfactory,
unfortunate (a bad business). 3
harmful (is bad
for you). 4 (of food) decayed,
putrid. 5 colloq.
ill,
injured (am
feeling bad
today; a bad leg). 6 colloq.
regretful,
guilty,
ashamed (feels bad
about it). 7 (of an unwelcome thing)
serious,
severe (a bad
headache; a bad mistake). 8 a morally
wicked or
offensive (a bad
man; bad language). b
naughty;
badly behaved (a bad child). 9
worthless;
not valid (a bad cheque). 10 (badder, baddest)
esp. US sl.
good,
excellent. --n. 1 a ill
fortune (take
the bad
with the good). b
ruin; a
degenerate condition (go to the bad). 2 the
debit side of an
account (ø500 to the bad). 3 (as
pl.; prec. by the) bad or wicked
people. --adv. US colloq. badly (took it bad). øbad
blood ill feeling. bad books see
BOOK. bad
breath unpleasant-smelling breath. bad
debt a debt
that is not recoverable. bad egg see
EGG(1). bad
faith see FAITH. bad
form see FORM. a bad job colloq. an unfortunate
state of affairs. bad
mouth US
malicious gossip or
criticism.
bad-mouth v.tr. US
subject to malicious gossip or criticism. bad
news colloq. an unpleasant or
troublesome person or
thing.
from bad to
worse into an even worse state. in a bad
way ill; in
trouble (looked in a bad way). not (or not so) bad colloq.
fairly good.
too bad colloq. (of circumstances etc.)
regrettable but
now beyond retrieval. øøbaddish adj. badness n. [ME, perh. f. OE bóddel
hermaphrodite,
womanish man: for
loss of l
cf.
MUCH, WENCH]
