Word: bad Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English bad, badde (“wicked, evil, depraved”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a shortening of Old English bæddel (“hermaphrodite”) (for loss of -el compare Middle English muche from Old English myċel, and Middle English wenche from Old English wenċel), or at least related to it and/or to bǣ̆dan (“to defile”), compare Old High German pad (“hermaphrodite”). Alternatively, perhaps a loan from Old Norse into Middle English, compare Norwegian bad (“effort, trouble, fear”, neuter noun), East Danish bad (“damage, destruction, fight”, neuter noun), from the Proto-Germanic noun *badą, whence also Proto-Germanic *badōną (“to frighten”), Old Saxon undarbadōn (“to frighten”), Norwegian Nynorsk bada (“to weigh down, press”); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to bend, press, push, oppress”). False cognate of Persian بد (bad). Pronunciation: /bæd/, /bæːd/, /bɛd/, /baːd/, /bɛəd/ 1. Of low quality. Example: That movie was really bad! 2. Inaccurate; incorrect Example: A bad guess. Example: This sentence has bad grammar! 3. Unfavorable; negative; not good. Example: Hiring practice is very bad in this company. Example: The weather looks pretty bad right now. 4. Not suitable or fitting. Example: Do you think it is a bad idea to confront him directly? 5. Not appropriate, of manners etc. Example: It is bad manners to talk with your mouth full. Example: “[…] 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. […]” 6. Harmful, especially unhealthy; liable to cause health problems. Example: Lard is bad for you. Smoking is bad for you, too. Grapes are bad for dogs but not for humans. 7. Sickly, unhealthy, unwell. Example: Joe's in a bad way; he can't even get out of bed. Example: I went to the hospital to see how my grandfather was doing. Unfortunately, he's in a bad state. 8. The injured or weak one of a pair of body parts, where the other one is healthy. Example: I accidentally put my weight on my bad leg and fell over. 9. Not behaving; behaving badly; misbehaving; mischievous or disobedient. Labels: childish, often Example: Stop being bad, or you will get a spanking! Example: I can tell that new kid at our daycare is trouble […] He's picking out his favorite corner to stand in when he's bad. 10. Tricky; stressful; unpleasant. Example: Divorce is usually a bad experience for everybody involved. 11. Evil; wicked. Labels: childish, sometimes Example: Be careful. There are bad people in the world. 12. Faulty; not functional. Example: I had a bad headlight. 13. Spoiled, rotten, overripe. Example: These apples have gone bad. 14. Malodorous; foul. Example: Bad breath is not pleasant for anyone. 15. False; counterfeit; illegitimate. Example: They were caught trying to pass bad coinage. 16. Unskilled; of limited ability; not good. Example: I'm pretty bad at speaking French. Example: He's a bad gardener; everything he tries to grow ends up dying. 17. Of poor physical appearance. Example: I look really bad whenever I get less than seven hours of sleep. Example: I don't look bad in this dress, do I? 18. Severe, urgent. Example: He is in bad need of a haircut. Example: Oh let me tell you that it / Hurts so bad / It makes me feel so sad / You make it hurt so bad / To see you again. 19. Regretful, guilty, or ashamed. Example: I feel so bad for betraying him! 20. Vulgar, obscene, or blasphemous. Example: Don't you dare speak to me with that bad language! 21. Not worth it. Example: The expensive purse was a bad buy.