English Online Dictionary. What means bad? What does bad mean?
Translingual
Symbol
bad
- (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-5 language code for Banda languages.
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bæd/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /bæːd/
- (New Zealand) IPA(key): /bɛd/
- (Wales) IPA(key): /baːd/
- (æ-tensing) IPA(key): /bɛəd/
- Rhymes: -æd
- Homophone: bade (one pronunciation)
Etymology 1
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”).
Adjective
bad (comparative worse or (nonstandard) badder or (nonstandard) more bad, superlative worst or (nonstandard) baddest or (nonstandard) most bad)
- Unfavorable; negative; not good.
- Synonyms: unfavorable, negative; see also Thesaurus:bad
- Not suitable or fitting.
- Synonyms: inappropriate, unfit; see also Thesaurus:unsuitable
- Not appropriate, of manners etc.
- Unhealthy; liable to cause health problems.
- Synonyms: unhealthful, unwholesome; see also Thesaurus:harmful
- Lard is bad for you. Smoking is bad for you, too. Grapes are bad for dogs but not for humans.
- (chiefly applied to a person's state of health) Sickly, unhealthy, unwell.
- Synonyms: ill, poorly, sickly; see also Thesaurus:ill
- (often childish) Not behaving; behaving badly; misbehaving; mischievous or disobedient.
- Stop being bad, or you will get a spanking!
- Tricky; stressful; unpleasant.
- Synonyms: foul, loathsome; see also Thesaurus:unpleasant
- (sometimes childish) Evil; wicked.
- Synonyms: vile, vicious; see also Thesaurus:evil
- Faulty; not functional.
- Synonyms: inoperative; see also Thesaurus:out of order
- (of food) Spoiled, rotten, overripe.
- Synonyms: rotten; see also Thesaurus:rotten
- (of breath) Malodorous; foul.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:malodorous
- False; counterfeit; illegitimate.
- Synonyms: fake, spurious; see also Thesaurus:fake
- Unskilled; of limited ability; not good.
- Synonyms: bungling, inept; see also Thesaurus:unskilled
- Of poor physical appearance.
- Synonyms: repulsive, unsightly; see also Thesaurus:ugly
- (informal) Bold and daring.
- Synonyms: (slang) badass; see also Thesaurus:brave
- (slang) Good, superlative, excellent, cool.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:good
- You is bad, man!
- (of a need, want, or pain) Severe, urgent.
- Synonyms: dire; see also Thesaurus:urgent
- (US, slang) Overly promiscuous, licentious.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:promiscuous
- (originally African-American Vernacular, slang, of a woman) Very attractive; hot, sexy.
- (slang, of a draft/check) Not covered by funds on account.
- Synonyms: rubber, hot
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
See also
Adverb
bad (comparative worse, superlative worst)
- (now colloquial) Badly.
Translations
Noun
bad (plural bads)
- Something that is bad; a harm or evil.
- (slang, with possessive determiner) Error; mistake.
- (countable, uncountable, economics) An item (or kind of item) of merchandise with negative value; an unwanted good.
Translations
Interjection
bad
- Used to scold a misbehaving child or pet.
Translations
References
Etymology 2
From Middle English bad, from Old English bæd, first and third-person singular indicative past tense of biddan (“to ask”).
Verb
bad
- (archaic) alternative past of bid. See bade.
Etymology 3
Unknown
Verb
bad (third-person singular simple present bads, present participle badding, simple past and past participle badded)
- (Britain, dialect, transitive) To shell (a walnut).
- 1876, The Gloucester Journal, Oct. 7, 1876, reported in A. Gregory, “Gloucestershire Dialect,” Notes and Queries, 5th ser., 6, 148 (1876‑10‑28): 346
- A curious specimen of Gloucestershire dialect came 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 a ‘bannut,’ and hence the old Gloucestershire phrase, ‘Come an’ bad the bannuts.’
- 1876, The Gloucester Journal, Oct. 7, 1876, reported in A. Gregory, “Gloucestershire Dialect,” Notes and Queries, 5th ser., 6, 148 (1876‑10‑28): 346
Anagrams
- ABD, ADB, Abd., BDA, D.B.A., DAB, DBA, abd., d/b/a, dab, dba
Afar
Etymology
From Proto-Cushitic. Cognates include Somali bád and Saho bad.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbad/, [ˈbʌd]
- Hyphenation: bad
Noun
bád m (plural badoodá f)
- lake, sea, ocean
Declension
Derived terms
References
- E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “bad”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
- Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2004) Parlons Afar: Langue et Culture, L'Hammartan, →ISBN, page 35
Afrikaans
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [bɑt]
Noun
bad (plural baddens, diminutive badjie)
- bath
Related terms
- baaie
References
- 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.
Danish
Etymology 1
From Old Norse bað, Proto-Germanic *baþą (“bath”), cognate with English bath and German Bad.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈb̥að]
- Rhymes: -ad
Noun
bad n (singular definite badet, plural indefinite bade)
- bath, shower, swim
- bathroom
Inflection
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈb̥æˀð], [ˈb̥æðˀ]
Verb
bad
- past of bede
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈb̥æˀð], [ˈb̥æðˀ]
Verb
bad
- imperative of bade
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɑt/
- Hyphenation: bad
- Rhymes: -ɑt
- Homophone: Bath
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch bat, from Old Dutch *bath, from Proto-Germanic *baþą.
Noun
bad n (plural baden, diminutive badje n)
- bath (object)
- the act or process of bathing
- immersion
Derived terms
Related terms
- baden
Descendants
- Afrikaans: bad
- Negerhollands: bad, bat
- →? Sranan Tongo: bat
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
bad
- singular past indicative of bidden
Gothic
Romanization
bad
- Romanization of 𐌱𐌰𐌳
Indonesian
Etymology
From Persian باد (bâd, “wind”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbat̚/
Noun
bad (first-person possessive badku, second-person possessive badmu, third-person possessive badnya)
- (archaic) wind
- Synonym: angin
Related terms
Further reading
- “bad” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Khasi
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /baːt/
Conjunction
bad
- and, with
Lushootseed
Noun
bad
- father
Maltese
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /baːt/
Verb
bad (imperfect jbid, past participle mibjud, verbal noun bidien)
- Alternative form of bied
Conjugation
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)
- a bath
- et varmt bad - a hot bath
- a bathroom (see also baderom)
Derived terms
- blodbad
- boblebad
Related terms
- bade
Etymology 2
Alternative forms
- (of be) ba
Verb
bad
- imperative of bade
- simple past of be
- simple past of bede
References
- “bad” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology 1
From Old Norse bað.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɑːd/
Noun
bad n (definite singular badet, indefinite plural bad, definite plural bada)
- a bath
- eit varmt bad - a hot bath
- a bathroom
Synonyms
- (bathroom): baderom
Derived terms
- blodbad
- boblebad
Etymology 2
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɑː/
Verb
bad
- past of be
References
- “bad” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɑːd/
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *baidu, from Proto-Germanic *baidō.
Noun
bād f
- waiting; expectation
- something distrained; pledge, stake
Declension
Derived terms
- *ābād
- nīedbād
Related terms
- ābīdan
- bīdan
Descendants
- Middle English: bade, bode, baide
- English: bode
- Scots: bade, baid
Etymology 2
Verb
bād
- first/third-person singular preterite of bīdan
Old Irish
Alternative forms
- bed
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bað/
Verb
bad
- inflection of is:
- third-person singular past subjunctive
- third-person singular/second-person plural imperative
Mutation
Palauan
Etymology
From Pre-Palauan *baðu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *batu, from Proto-Austronesian *batu. Cognate with Kavalan btu,Tagalog bato, Malay batu, Maori whatu.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bað/
Noun
bad
- stone; rock
Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from German Bad, from Middle High German, from Old High German bad, from Proto-West Germanic *baþ, from Proto-Germanic *baþą. English bath.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bat/
- Rhymes: -at
- Syllabification: bad
- Homophone: bat
Noun
bad m inan
- (dated) health resort
- Synonym: kurort
Declension
Further reading
- bad in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- bad in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
Probably borrowed from Pictish [Term?]. Compare Breton bod (“cluster, bunch of grapes, thicket”).
Noun
bad m (genitive singular baid, plural badan)
- place, spot
- tuft, bunch
- flock, group
- thicket, clump (of trees)
Synonyms
- (place): spot
Derived terms
- anns a' bhad
- reul-bhad
Somali
Noun
bad ?
- sea
Sumerian
Romanization
bad
- Romanization of 𒁁 (bad)
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Swedish badh, from Old Norse bað, from Proto-Germanic *baþą, from the zero-grade of Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɑːd/
- Rhymes: -ɑːd
Noun
bad n
- a bath, the act of bathing
- a bath, a place for bathing (badplats, badhus)
Declension
Related terms
- bada
- badkar
- badrum
- havsbad
- kallbad
- karbad
- varmbad
- vinterbad
- ångbad
Verb
bad
- past indicative of be
- past indicative of bedja
References
- bad in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
Volapük
Noun
bad (nominative plural bads)
- evil, badness
Declension
See also
- badik
- badiko
Welsh
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /baːd/
- Rhymes: -aːd
Etymology 1
From Old English bāt.
Noun
bad m (plural badau)
- boat
- Synonyms: cwch, llong
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Noun
bad f (uncountable)
- plague, pestilence
- Synonyms: pla, haint
Derived terms
- y fad fawr (“the Great Plague”)