English
bad
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /bæd/
  • (Australia) IPA: /bæːd/
  • (New Zealand) IPA: /bɛd/
  • (Wales) IPA: /baːd/
  • (æ-tensing, New York City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore) IPA: /bɛəd/
Etymology 1

From Middle English bad, badde, of uncertain origin.

Alternatively, perhaps a loan from Old Norse - into Middle English, compare Norwegian bad, East Danish bad, from the Proto-Germanic - noun *badą, whence also Proto-Germanic *badōną (“to frighten”), osx undarbadōn, Norwegian Nynorsk bada.

Adjective

bad

  1. Unfavorable; negative; not good.
    Synonyms: unfavorable, negative, Thesaurus:bad
    Hiring practice is very bad in this company.
    The weather looks pretty bad right now.
    He is in a bad mood.
    You have very bad grades.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC ↗:
      He looked round the poor room, at the distempered walls, and the bad engravings in meretricious frames, the crinkly paper and wax flowers on the chiffonier; and he thought of a room like Father Bryan's, with panelling, with cut glass, with tulips in silver pots, such a room as he had hoped to have for his own.
  2. Not suitable or fitting.
    Synonyms: inappropriate, unfit, Thesaurus:unsuitable
    Do you think it is a bad idea to confront him directly?
  3. Not appropriate, of manners etc.
    It is bad manners to talk with your mouth full.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC ↗:
      “ […] if you call my duds a ‘livery’ again there'll be trouble. It's bad enough to go around togged out like a life saver on a drill day, but I can stand that 'cause I'm paid for it. What I won't stand is to have them togs called a livery. […] ”
  4. Unhealthy; liable to cause health problems.
    Synonyms: unhealthful, unwholesome, Thesaurus:harmful
    Lard is bad for you. Smoking is bad for you, too. Grapes are bad for dogs but not for humans.
  5. (chiefly applied to a person's state of health) Sickly, unhealthy, unwell.
    Synonyms: ill, poorly, sickly, Thesaurus:ill
    Joe's in a bad way; he can't even get out of bed.
    I went to the hospital to see how my grandfather was doing. Unfortunately, he's in a bad state.
    I've had a bad back since the accident.
  6. (often, childish) Not behaving; behaving badly; misbehaving; mischievous or disobedient.
    Stop being bad, or you will get a spanking!
  7. Tricky; stressful; unpleasant.
    Synonyms: foul, loathsome, Thesaurus:unpleasant
    Divorce is usually a bad experience for everybody involved.
  8. (sometimes, childish) Evil; wicked.
    Synonyms: vile, vicious, Thesaurus:evil
    Be careful. There are bad people in the world.
  9. Faulty; not functional.
    Synonyms: inoperative, Thesaurus:out of order
    I had a bad headlight.
  10. (of food) spoiled, rotten, overripe.
    Synonyms: rotten, Thesaurus:rotten
    These apples have gone bad.
  11. (of breath) malodorous; foul.
    Synonyms: Thesaurus:malodorous
    Bad breath is not pleasant for anyone.
  12. False; counterfeit; illegitimate.
    Synonyms: fake, spurious, Thesaurus:fake
    They were caught trying to pass bad coinage.
  13. Unskilled; of limited ability; not good.
    Synonyms: bungling, inept, Thesaurus:unskilled
    I'm pretty bad at speaking French.
    He's a bad gardener; everything he tries to grow ends up dying.
  14. Of poor physical appearance.
    Synonyms: repulsive, unsightly, Thesaurus:ugly
    I look really bad whenever I get less than seven hours of sleep.
    I don't look bad in this dress, do I?
  15. (informal) Bold and daring.
    Synonyms: badass, Thesaurus:brave
  16. (slang) Good, superlative, excellent, cool.
    Synonyms: Thesaurus:good
    Man, that new car you bought is bad!
    You is bad, man!
  17. (of a, need, want, or pain) Severe, urgent.
    Synonyms: dire, Thesaurus:urgent
    He is in bad need of a haircut.
  18. (US, slang) Overly promiscuous, licentious.
    Synonyms: Thesaurus:promiscuous
  19. (originally AAVE, slang, of a woman) Very attractive; hot, sexy.
    Hopefully I can pull some bad bitches tonight.
  20. (slang, of a draft/check) Not covered by funds on account.
    Synonyms: rubber, hot
    He gave me a bad check.
  21. (Internet slang, sarcastic) Used without a copula to mock people who oppose something without having any real understanding of it.
    Orange Man bad
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Adverb

bad (comparative worse, superlative worst)

  1. (now, colloquial) Badly; poorly.
    I didn't do too bad in the last exam.
    He is quite bad off now that both his parents lost their jobs.
  2. (intensifier) Badly; severely, extremely, passionately, eagerly.
Noun

bad (plural bads)

  1. Something that is bad; a harm or evil.
    • 2001, Ann Belford Ulanov, Finding Space: Winnicott, God, and Psychic Reality, page 59:
      We idealize God as supergoodness in order to protect against a bad that we cannot unite with ourselves.
  2. (slang, with possessive determiner) Error; mistake.
  3. (countable, uncountable, economics) An item (or kind of item) of merchandise with negative value; an unwanted good.
Translations Interjection
  1. Used to scold a misbehaving child or pet.
    Bad! You know you're not allowed in the kitchen after dinner.
Translations Etymology 2

From Middle English bad, from Old English bæd, first and third-person singular indicative past tense of biddan ("to ask").

Verb
  1. (archaic) alternative past of bid. See bade.
Verb

bad (bads, present participle badding; simple past and past participle badded)

  1. (British, dialect, transitive) To shell (a walnut).
    • 1876, The Gloucester Journal, Oct. 7, 1876, reported in A. Gregory, “Gloucestershire Dialect,” Notes and Queries, 5th ser., 6, 148 (1876‑10‑28): [http://books.google.com/books?id=wl8CAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA346&dq=badding+(walnut+OR+walnuts)+-inauthor:Badding&lr=lang_en&as_brr=0&ei=64ixSJmMCpS4yQT89NSTDA 346]
      A curious specimen of Gloucestershire dialect came out in an assault case heard by the Gloucester court magistrates on Saturday. One of the witnesses, speaking of what a girl was doing at the time the assault took place, said she was ‘badding’ walnuts in a pigstye. The word is peculiarly provincial: to ‘bad’ walnuts is to strip away the husk. The walnut, too, is often called a ‘bannut,’ and hence the old Gloucestershire phrase, ‘Come an’ bad the bannuts.’


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