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.
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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
Cárdenas was a bad debater and a dull speaker who read his speeches and rarely flashed a smile, said Manuel Camacho, a top leftist politician, in a 2014 interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
At first glance, the quarterly results of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, were not at all bad.
From BBC ● 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
On hearing the bad news, they sobbed for a long time.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Triways ended up worse off: It still owed money on the other MCAs, as well as on its new one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Restaurants and bars currently flooded are now beginning to plan for potentially worse weather in the ensuing weeks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 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 idea is to avoid being held hostage by a major market correction or, worse, a recession by being forced to withdraw money during a down market.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
It took everything in me to stay sitting calmly in my seat as the simulation careened from bad to worse.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
They’ve experienced high tides before, but “this is the worst it’s been,” she said.
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 crash is the second rail disaster in Spain this year, and the worst in the country's history since 2013.
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
“No. Your worst crime was to hold me up to derision.”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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