adverb (worse, worst)
1 not skilfully or not carefully:
to play / sing badly * badly designed / organized
2 not successfully:
Things have been going badly. * I did badly (= was not successful) in my exams.
3 not in a satisfactory way:
to behave / sleep badly * badly paid / treated * The kids took the dog's death very badly (= they were very unhappy).
4 in a way that makes people get a bad opinion about sth:
The economic crisis reflects badly on the government's policies. * She's only trying to help, so don't think badly of her.
5 used to emphasize how much you want, need, etc. sb/sth:
The building is badly in need of repair. * They wanted to win so badly. * I miss her badly.
6 used to emphasize how serious a situation or an event is:
badly damaged / injured / hurt * The country has been badly affected by recession. * Everything's gone badly wrong!
IDIOMS
badly off
1 not having much money; poor
2 not in a good situation:
I've got quite a big room so I'm not too badly off. * Lots of people are far worse off than we are.
be badly off for sth (BrE) to not have enough of sth
