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Added 6 October 2026

bad

/bæd/ symbol

In Latin: malus Wiktionary

symbol Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bad at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-5 language code for Banda languages.

adjective

Of low quality.
That movie was really bad!
Inaccurate; incorrect.
A bad guess.
Unfavorable; negative; not good.
Hiring practice is very bad in this company.

adjective

Not covered by funds on account.
He gave me a bad check.

adjective

Bold, daring, and tough.
He's the baddest guy in town!
Good, superlative, excellent, cool.
Man, that new car you bought is bad!
Overly promiscuous, licentious.

Origin

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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