Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Bad

Bad

(băd)
,
imp.
of
Bid
.
Bade.
[Obs.]
Dryden.

Bad

(băd)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Worse
(wûs)
;
sup
erl.
Worst
(wûst)
.]
[Probably fr. AS.
bæddel
hermaphrodite; cf.
bædling
effeminate fellow.]
Wanting good qualities, whether physical or moral; injurious, hurtful, inconvenient, offensive, painful, unfavorable, or defective, either physically or morally; evil; vicious; wicked; – the opposite of
good
;
as, a
bad
man;
bad
conduct;
bad
habits;
bad
soil;
bad
air;
bad
health; a
bad
crop;
bad
news
.

Sometimes used substantively.
The strong antipathy of good to
bad
.
Pope.
Syn. – Pernicious; deleterious; noxious; baneful; injurious; hurtful; evil; vile; wretched; corrupt; wicked; vicious; imperfect.

Webster 1828 Edition


Bad

BAD

, a.[Heb. to perish or destroy]
1.
Ill; evil; opposed to good; a word of general use, denoting physical defects and moral faults, in men and things; as a bad man, a bad heart, a bad design, bad air, bad water, bad books.
2.
Vicious; corrupt; depraved, in a moral sense; as a bad life; a bad action.
3.
Unwholesome; as bad provisions.
4.
Unfortunate; unprosperous; as a bad state of affairs.
5.
Unskillful; as a bad player.
6.
Small; poor; as a bad crop.
7.
Infirm; as a bad state of health.
8.
Feeble, corrupt, or oppressive; as a bad government.
9.
Hurtful; pernicious; as, fine print is bad for the eyes.
10. Unfavorable; as a bad season.
11. Poor; sterile; as a bad soil.
12. Rough or muddy; as a bad road. In short, bad expresses whatever is injurious, hurtful, inconvenient, unlawful or immoral; whatever is offensive, painful or unfavorable; or what is defective.

Definition 2024


Bad

Bad

See also: bad, bád, bað, båd, and բադ

German

Noun

Bad n (genitive Bades or Bads, plural Bäder)

  1. bath
    • ein Bad nehmen
      to take a bath
  2. bathroom
    • Wo ist das Bad?
      Where is the bathroom?
  3. pool, baths
  4. (destination) spa; (health) resort
    • Bad Cannstatt, Bad Homburg, Bad Segeberg, ...
      (place names)

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

Hyponyms

  • (bath): Abschreckbad (quenching bath), Ätzbad (etching bath), Alkoholbad (alcohol bath), Augenbad (eye bath) Fixierbad (fixing bath), Sonnenbad (sun bath), Vollbad (full bath)
  • (baths): Schwimmbad (public swimming pool), Freibad, Hallenbad, Strandbad, Volksbad, proper nouns like: “Prinzenbad”
  • (spa): Alpenseebad (alpine lake spa)

See also


Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Old High German bad.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /baːt/
    • Rhymes: -aːt

Noun

Bad n (plural Bieder)

  1. bath
  2. spa, baths

Related terms

bad

bad

See also: Bad, bád, båd, bað, and բադ

English

Adjective

bad (comparative worse or badder, superlative worst or baddest)

  1. Not good; unfavorable; negative.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 10, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      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.
    You have bad credit.
  2. Not suitable or fitting.
    Do you think it is a bad idea to confront him directly?
  3. Seemingly non-appropriate, in manners, etc.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      “[…] 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. […]”
    It is bad manners to talk with your mouth full.
  4. Unhealthy.
    Lard is bad for you. Smoking is bad for you, too. Grapes are bad for dogs but not for humans.
  5. Tricky; stressful; unpleasant.
    Divorce is usually a bad experience for everybody involved.
  6. Evil; wicked.
    Be careful. There are bad people in the world.
  7. Faulty; not functional.
    I had a bad headlight.
  8. (of food) Spoiled, rotten, overripe.
    These apples have gone bad.
  9. (of breath) Malodorous, foul.
    Bad breath is not pleasant for anyone.
  10. (informal) Bold and daring.
  11. (of a need or want) Severe, urgent.
    He is in bad need of a haircut.
Usage notes

The comparative badder and superlative baddest are nonstandard.

Synonyms
  • See also Wikisaurus:bad
Antonyms
See also
Derived terms
Translations

Adverb

bad (comparative worse, superlative worst)

  1. (now colloquial) Badly.
    I didn't do too bad in the last exam.
Translations

Noun

bad (uncountable)

  1. (slang) Error, mistake.
    Sorry, my bad!
    • 1993, Mitch Albom, Fab five: basketball, trash talk, the American dream, page days:
      "My bad, My bad!” Juwan yelled, scowling
    • 2003, Zane, Skyscraper, page 7:
      “Chico, you're late again.” I turned around and stared him in his beady eyes. “I missed my bus. My bad, Donald.” “Your bad? Your bad? What kind of English is that?
    • 2008, Camika Spencer, Cubicles, page 68:
      Teresa broke out in laughter. “Dang, I sound like I'm talking to my man.” “I tried your cell phone, but you didn't answer.” “I left it at home, Friday. My bad.” “Yeah, your bad.” I laughed. “Really, I'm sorry. It won't happen again.
  1. (countable, uncountable, economics) An item (or kind of item) of merchandise with negative value; an unwanted good.
    • 2011, Thompson, Henry, International Economics: Global Markets and Competition, 3rd edition, World Scientific, page 97:
      Imports are an economic good but exports an economic bad. Exports must be produced but are enjoyed by foreign consumers.
    • 2011, William J. Boyes, Michael Melvin, Economics, 9th edition, Cengage Learning, page 4:
      An economic bad is anything that you would pay to get rid of. It is not so hard to think of examples of bads: pollution, garbage, and disease fit the description.
Translations

Etymology 2

Probably identical to bad, etymology 1, above, especially in the sense "bold, daring".

Adjective

bad (comparative badder, superlative baddest)

  1. (Should we move(+) this sense?) (slang) Fantastic.
    You is [sic] bad, man!

Etymology 3

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

Verb

bad

  1. (archaic) Alternative past tense of bid. See bade.

Etymology 4

Unknown

Verb

bad (third-person singular simple present bads, present participle badding, simple past and past participle badded)

  1. (Britain, dialect, transitive) To shell (a walnut).
    • 1876, The Gloucester Journal, Oct. 7, 1876, reported in William John Thomas, Doran (John), Henry Frederick Turle, Joseph Knight, Vernon Horace Rendall, Florence Hayllar, Notes and Queries, page 346
      A curious specimen of Gloucestershire dialect c»me 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 » 'bannut,' and hence the old Gloucestershire phrase, ' Come an' bad the bannuts.'

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: led · low · American · #521: bad · forward · remember · fair

Anagrams


Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse bað.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bad/, [bað]

Noun

bad n (singular definite badet, plural indefinite bade)

  1. bath, shower, swim
  2. bathroom
Inflection

Etymology 2

See bede (to pray, request).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /baːd/, [bæːˀð]

Verb

bad

  1. past tense of bede

Etymology 3

See bade (to bathe, bath).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /baːd/, [bæðˀ]

Verb

bad

  1. imperative of bade

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɑt
  • IPA(key): /bɑt/

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch *bath, from Proto-Germanic *baþą.

Noun

bad n (plural baden, diminutive badje n)

  1. bath
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Verb

bad

  1. singular past indicative of bidden

Gothic

Romanization

bad

  1. Romanization of 𐌱𐌰𐌳

Lojban

Rafsi

bad

  1. rafsi of bandu.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse bað, from Proto-Germanic *baþą (bath).

Noun

bad n (definite singular badet, indefinite plural bad, definite plural bada or badene)

  1. a bath
    et varmt bad - a hot bath
  2. a bathroom (see also baderom)
Related terms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

  • (of be) ba

Verb

bad

  1. imperative of bade
  2. simple past of be
  3. simple past of bede

References


Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse bað.

Noun

bad n (definite singular badet, indefinite plural bad, definite plural bada)

  1. a bath
    eit varmt bad - a hot bath
  2. a bathroom

Synonyms

Derived terms

Verb

bad

  1. past tense of be, beda and bede

References


Old English

Pronunciation

Verb

bād

  1. first-person singular preterite of bīdan
  2. third-person singular preterite of bīdan

Old Irish

Alternative forms

Verb

bad

  1. third-person singular past subjunctive of is
  2. third-person singular imperative of is
  3. second-person plural imperative of is

Polish

Etymology

From German Bad.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bat/

Noun

bad m inan

  1. (obsolete) health resort, bath

Declension

Synonyms


Scottish Gaelic

Noun

bad m (genitive singular baid, plural badan)

  1. place, spot
  2. tuft, bunch
  3. flock, group
  4. thicket, clump (of trees)

Synonyms

Derived terms


Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish badh, from Old Norse bað, from Proto-Germanic *baþą, from the zero-grade of Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁-.

Pronunciation

Noun

bad n

  1. a bath, the act of bathing
  2. a bath, a place for bathing (badplats, badhus)

Declension

Inflection of bad 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative bad badet bad baden
Genitive bads badets bads badens

Related terms

  • bada
  • havsbad
  • kallbad
  • karbad
  • varmbad
  • vinterbad
  • ångbad

Verb

bad

  1. past tense of be.
  2. past tense of bedja.

References


Volapük

Noun

bad (plural bads)

  1. evil, badness

Declension

See also