Synonyms and antonyms of bad in English
These are words and phrases related to bad. Click on any word or phrase to go to its thesaurus page. Or,
go to the definition of bad.
BAD WEATHER, CONDITIONS, SITUATIONS, ETC.
If the weather is bad, we'll have to find something else to do.
Synonyms and examples
poor
She's 87 and in poor health.
dire
The predictions for the economy are dire.
grim
She was quickly brought back to the grim reality of her life.
awful
The smell from the bins was awful.
terrible
I've had a really terrible day.
horrible
it was a really horrible place to be.
fearful
We suddenly heard a fearful bang.
horrendous
The traffic getting here was horrendous.
ghastly
It all happened because of a ghastly misunderstanding.
atrocious
Conditions on the mountain are absolutely atrocious.
horrific
The bus was involved in a horrific accident.
abysmal
The government has an abysmal record on healthcare.
appalling
We are working to end the appalling suffering of animals.
Antonym and example
good
The weather's been good all week.
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Bad weather, conditions, situations, etc. are unpleasant and cause difficulties or harm. You can describe a person who behaves in a way that is morally wrong, or a morally wrong action, as a bad person, action, etc. Something that is of bad quality is of a low or unacceptable standard. If someone is bad at something, they lack skill in that doing something.
A BAD PERSON, ACTION, ETC.
A very bad man is getting what he deserves.
Synonyms and examples
evil
He was an evil dictator who murdered his own people.
wicked
Rapunzel was trapped inside a tower by a wicked witch.
awful
She was truly awful to him through their entire marriage.
terrible
He was a terrible husband.
dreadful
No one will own up to the dreadful deed.
abominable
Nothing can ever excuse such abominable behaviour.
sinful
Their actions are considered sinful by the Church.
impure
literary or humorous
She was labelled immoral and impure for daring to speak publicly about sexuality.
Antonym and example
good
She's a good person who gives to charity.
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Bad weather, conditions, situations, etc. are unpleasant and cause difficulties or harm. You can describe a person who behaves in a way that is morally wrong, or a morally wrong action, as a bad person, action, etc. Something that is of bad quality is of a low or unacceptable standard. If someone is bad at something, they lack skill in that doing something.
OF BAD QUALITY
The food wasn’t as bad as I’d expected.
Synonyms and examples
poor
Their efforts produced extremely poor results.
low/
Their sausages are made with low-quality meat.
inferior
The copies are of inferior quality.
Antonym and example
good
The pub has good food.
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Bad weather, conditions, situations, etc. are unpleasant and cause difficulties or harm. You can describe a person who behaves in a way that is morally wrong, or a morally wrong action, as a bad person, action, etc. Something that is of bad quality is of a low or unacceptable standard. If someone is bad at something, they lack skill in that doing something.
PAINFUL
The pain was so bad that I couldn't walk.
Synonyms and examples
painful
Her ankle was still painful if she put weight on it.
sore
My feet are sore from walking around all day.
tender
The glands in my neck feel really tender.
sensitive
My face was bright red and sensitive to the touch.
excruciating
His injury caused excruciating headaches.
agonizing
She felt an agonizing blow to the back of her head.
severe
See your doctor if the pain is severe.
unbearable
The pain was unbearable. I could hardly breathe.
acute
They treat patients with acute pain from surgery and accidents.
chronic
Hundreds of people are living with chronic pain.
sharp
He complained of a sharp pain that felt like a knife going into his back.
Antonym and example
painless
It is a completely painless procedure.
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Pain is a feeling of physical suffering that you get from an injury or an illness. You can also talk about things that cause pain. You can call the things that cause you physical pain painful.
HAVING A BAD RESULT OR OUTCOME
He got a bad case of food poisoning.
Synonyms and examples
serious
Her condition is not thought to be serious.
big
Online fraud is a big problem.
major
It's not a major problem, but it does need to be taken care of.
grave
The public are in grave danger.
severe
He suffered severe damage to his right ankle during the opening match of the season.
life-threatening
His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
urgent
Suddenly, protecting the public from dangerous chemicals became an urgent matter.
Antonym and example
minor
He was charged with a minor traffic offence.
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If someone or something lacks humour and is not meant to be funny, they are serious. If something such as a problem, illness, etc. has a bad outcome, it is serious.
NOT PRODUCING A DESIRED RESULT
Sales have been really bad this quarter.
Synonyms and examples
unsuccessful
Our attempts to change the law were unsuccessful.
failed
The company went bankrupt pouring money into yet another failed product.
fruitless
All our pleas that she remain in university were fruitless - she left anyway.
unfruitful
The negotiations were unfruitful.
unproductive
We've had a terribly unproductive meeting.
ineffective
The trial shows that this drug is an ineffective treatment for cancer.
non-effective
This approach to increasing revenue was non-effective.
unviable
The party's plan to drastically cut taxes was economically unviable.
nonviable
The business was deemed commercially non-viable.
vain
He campaigned night and day in a vain attempt to win the party nomination.
unpromising
Millions was spent on developing the treatment, but early tests show it is unpromising.
disastrous
He made a disastrous foray into politics.
be dead in the water
They pulled funding, so the project is dead in the water.
Antonym and example
successful
She ran a very successful campaign.
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If something is unsuccessful, it does not produce a desired result. If someone is unsuccessful, they are not acheiving wealth, popularity, or success .
bad | American Thesaurus
These are words and phrases related to bad. Click on any word or phrase to go to its thesaurus page. Or,
go to the definition of bad.
She's a very bad singer. Your car won't start if the battery is bad. We expect bad weather. She gets bad grades.
Synonyms
Antonyms
You exercised bad judgment. Her bad spelling kept her from becoming a secretary.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Too much candy is bad for your teeth.
Synonyms
We were prepared for bad news. He's in a bad mood.
Synonyms
Don't feel bad about breaking the glass. I feel bad about not being able to help you.
Antonym
Bad milk can make you sick.
Synonyms
Antonyms
You must learn to take the bad with the good.
Antonym
The bad people can be forgiven by God.
Antonym
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the highest point of a mountain
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