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badly

/ˈbæd.li/adverb

Badly is also used as adverb, with meanings including to a severe or serious degree.

10 meanings5 lettersScrabble 11

Length

5

Scrabble

11

WWF

12

Starts

BA

Ends

DLY

Difficulty

Medium

Dictionary

What Does “BADLY” Mean?

/ˈbæd.li/

badly has 10 documented senses across adverb.

Adverb

10 senses
1

to a severe or serious degree

fingers so badly frozen they had to be amputated

badly injured

a severely impaired heart

is gravely ill

2

(‘ill’ is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well

he was ill prepared

it ill befits a man to betray old friends

the car runs badly

he performed badly on the exam

Synonyms

3

evilly or wickedly

treated his parents badly

to steal is to act badly

4

in a disobedient or naughty way

he behaved badly in school

he mischievously looked for a chance to embarrass his sister

behaved naughtily when they had guests and was sent to his room

5

with great intensity (‘bad’ is a nonstandard variant for ‘badly’)

the injury hurt badly

the buildings were badly shaken

it hurts bad

we need water bad

Synonyms

6

very much; strongly

I wanted it badly enough to work hard for it

the cables had sagged badly

they were badly in need of help

he wants a bicycle so bad he can taste it

Synonyms

Show 4 more adverb definitions
7

without skill or in a displeasing manner

she writes badly

I think he paints very badly

8

in a disadvantageous way; to someone's disadvantage

the venture turned out badly for the investors

angry that the case was settled disadvantageously for them

9

unfavorably or with disapproval

tried not to speak ill of the dead

thought badly of him for his lack of concern

Synonyms

10

with unusual distress or resentment or regret or emotional display

they took their defeat badly

took her father's death badly

conducted himself very badly at the time of the earthquake

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

5

Vowels

1

Consonants

4

Word Intelligence

Explore the word badly with its definition, score, letter pattern, and useful word game details.

Definition

to a severe or serious degree

Length

5 letters

Starts With

B

Ends With

Y

Vowels

1

Consonants

4

Letters

B, A, D, L, Y

Use Case

Useful for Scrabble, Wordle, crosswords, anagrams, and other word games.

Letter Breakdown

b
a
d
l
y

Word Facts

Key letter, score, and pattern facts for badly.

BADLY is a 5-letter word.
It has a Scrabble score of 11.
It starts with B and ends with Y.
It contains 1 vowel and 4 consonants.
Its vowel share is about 20%.
It is an isogram, meaning no letter repeats.
It is not a palindrome.
Letter pattern: ABCDE.
Vowel/consonant pattern: CVCCC.

Word Strategy

Strategy notes for using badly in Scrabble, Wordle-style games, crosswords, and anagram solving.

Scrabble Strategy

★★★★☆

BADLY has a Scrabble score of 11. It is useful for balancing a rack and building steady board position.

Wordle Strategy

★★★★☆

BADLY is a five-letter word, so it can be considered in Wordle-style solving. It includes common vowel information that can help narrow guesses.

Crossword Strategy

★★★★☆

BADLY can be useful in crossword solving because it has a clear starting letter, ending letter, and 5-letter structure.

Anagram Strategy

★★★★☆

BADLY uses unique letters, giving more flexibility when checking possible anagrams and word game combinations.

Letter Intelligence

A deeper look at the letter structure, patterns, and useful game signals inside badly.

Unique Letters

5

Repeated Letters

0

Highest Value Letter

Y

Letter Pattern

ABCDE

CV Pattern

CVCCC

Vowel Share

20%

Consonant Share

80%

Bigrams

BA, AD, DL, LY

Trigrams

BAD, ADL, DLY

Crossword Intelligence

Crossword-style clues, crossing help, and pattern notes for badly.

BADLY is a 5-letter standard crossword entry.
It starts with B and ends with Y, which helps narrow crossword crossings.
It contains 1 vowel and 4 consonants.
Its vowel/consonant pattern is CVCCC.
Crossword difficulty estimate: Medium.

Related Words

Word Usage Insights

Practical observations about how this word performs in different word games and puzzle situations.

This word contains 5 letters and is suitable for medium-length word games.
Its consonant/vowel pattern is CVCCC, making it relatively challenging to recognize.
With a Scrabble score of 11, it offers moderate scoring potential.
The word begins with B and ends with Y, making it useful for solving pattern-based puzzles.
Every letter appears only once.

Word Intelligence Links

Explore word lists connected to BADLY by length, score, vowels, consonants, starting letters, ending letters, and word game tools.

Word Family

Explore words that share a similar beginning or root pattern with badly.

Related Word Tools

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