bad
/bæd/
EN
A term describing something that is not good, of poor quality, or morally wrong
The weather was so bad that we had to cancel our picnic.
The weather was so bad that we had to cancel our picnic.
Etymology
The word bad comes from Old English *bæddel*, which originally meant "bad, evil, worthless" and evolved over centuries to its current broad range of negative meanings.
Cultural Notes
In informal spoken English, bad can also be used as slang to mean "excellent or very cool", which is a reversed, ironic usage that is common in youth and pop culture contexts.
Collocations
bad luckbad weatherbad habitbad news
Synonyms
poorterribleawfulinferior
Antonyms
Related Words
worseworstbadlybadness