worst
Use Worst in a sentence
adjective superl. of bad and ill.
2.
most faulty, unsatisfactory, or objectionable: the worst paper submitted.
3.
most unfavorable or injurious.
4.
in the poorest condition: the worst house on the block.
5.
most unpleasant, unattractive, or disagreeable: the worst personality I've ever known.
noun
7.
that which is worst.
00:10
Worst
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
adverb
8.
in the most evil, wicked, severe, or disadvantageous manner.
9.
with the most severity, intensity, etc.; in the greatest degree.
verb (used with object)
Idioms 10.
to defeat; beat: He worsted him easily.
11.
at worst, if the worst happens; under the worst conditions: He will be expelled from school, at worst. Also, at the worst.
12.
get the worst of something, to be defeated by; lose: to get the worst of a fight.
13.
if worst comes to worst, if the very worst happens: If worst comes to worst, we still have some money in reserve.
14.
in the worst way, Informal. in an extreme degree; very much: She wanted a new robe for Christmas in the worst way. Also, the worst way.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
adjective
1.
not good in any manner or degree.
2.
having a wicked or evil character; morally reprehensible: There is no such thing as a bad boy.
3.
of poor or inferior quality; defective; deficient: a bad diamond; a bad spark plug.
4.
inadequate or below standard; not satisfactory for use: bad heating; Living conditions in some areas are very bad.
5.
inaccurate, incorrect, or faulty: a bad guess.
6.
invalid, unsound, or false: a bad insurance claim; bad judgment.
7.
causing or liable to cause sickness or ill health; injurious or harmful: Too much sugar is bad for your teeth.
8.
suffering from sickness, ill health, pain, or injury; sick; ill: He felt bad from eating the green apples.
9.
not healthy or in good physical condition; diseased, decayed, or physically weakened: A bad heart kept him out of the army.
10.
tainted, spoiled, or rotten, especially to the point of being inedible: The meat is bad because you left it out of the refrigerator too long.
11.
having a disastrous or detrimental effect, result, or tendency; unfavorable: The drought is bad for the farmers. His sloppy appearance made a bad impression.
12.
causing or characterized by discomfort, inconvenience, uneasiness, or annoyance; disagreeable; unpleasant: I had a bad flight to Chicago.
13.
easily provoked to anger; irascible: a bad temper.
14.
cross, irritable, or surly: If I don't have my morning coffee, I'm in a bad mood all day.
15.
more uncomfortable, persistent, painful, or dangerous than usual; severe: a bad attack of asthma.
16.
causing or resulting in disaster or severe damage or destruction: a bad flood.
17.
regretful, contrite, dejected, or upset: He felt bad about having to leave the children all alone.
18.
disobedient, naughty, or misbehaving: If you're bad at school, you'll go to bed without supper.
19.
disreputable or dishonorable: He's getting a bad name from changing jobs so often.
20.
displaying a lack of skill, talent, proficiency, or judgment: a bad painting; Bad drivers cause most of the accidents.
21.
causing distress; unfortunate or unfavorable: I'm afraid I have bad news for you.
22.
not suitable or appropriate; disadvantageous or dangerous: It was a bad day for fishing.
23.
inclement; considered too stormy, hot, cold, etc.: We had a bad winter with a lot of snow.
24.
disagreeable or offensive to the senses: a bad odor.
25.
exhibiting a lack of artistic sensitivity: The room was decorated in bad taste.
26.
not in keeping with a standard of behavior or conduct; coarse: bad manners.
27.
28.
unattractive, especially because of a lack of pleasing proportions: She has a bad figure.
29.
(of the complexion) marred by defects; pockmarked or pimply; blemished: bad skin.
30.
not profitable or worth the price paid: The land was a bad buy.
31.
Commerce. deemed uncollectible or irrecoverable and treated as a loss: a bad debt.
32.
ill-spent; wasted: Don't throw good money after bad money.
33.
counterfeit; not genuine: There was a bad ten-dollar bill in with the change.
34.
having the character of a villain; villainous: In the movies the good guys always beat the bad guys.
35.
Sports. failing to land within the in-bounds limits of a court or section of a court; missing the mark; not well aimed.
36.
Slang. outstandingly excellent; first-rate: He's a bad man on drums, and the fans love him.
noun
37.
that which is bad: You have to take the bad with the good.
38.
a bad condition, character, or quality: His health seemed to go from bad to worse.
39.
( used with a plural verb ) evil persons collectively (usually preceded by the ): The bad are always stirring up trouble.
adverb Informal.
Idioms 40.
badly: He wanted it bad enough to steal it.
41.
42.
go to the bad, to deteriorate physically or morally; go to ruin: She wept at seeing her son go to the bad.
43.
in a bad way, in severe trouble or distress.
44.
in bad, Informal.
a.
in trouble or distress.
b.
in disfavor: He's in bad with his father-in-law.
45.
my bad, Slang. my fault! my mistake!
46.
not bad,
a.
tolerably good; not without merit: The dinner wasn't bad, but I've had better.
b.
Also, not so bad, not too bad. not difficult: Once you know geometry, trigonometry isn't bad.
47.
too bad, unfortunate or disappointing: It's too bad that he didn't go to college.
48.
to the bad, in arrears: He's $100 to the bad on his debt.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English badde, perhaps akin to Old English bæddel hermaphrodite, bædling womanish man
1250–1300; Middle English badde, perhaps akin to Old English bæddel hermaphrodite, bædling womanish man
Related forms
bad·ness, noun
Synonyms
2. depraved, corrupt, base, sinful, criminal, atrocious. Bad, evil, ill, wicked are closest in meaning in reference to that which is lacking in moral qualities or is actually vicious and reprehensible. Bad is the broadest and simplest term: a bad man; bad habits. Evil applies to that which violates or leads to the violation of moral law: evil practices. Ill now appears mainly in certain fixed expressions, with a milder implication than that in evil: ill will; ill-natured. Wicked implies willful and determined doing of what is very wrong: a wicked plan. 10. putrefied. 21. adverse, unlucky, unhappy.
2. depraved, corrupt, base, sinful, criminal, atrocious. Bad, evil, ill, wicked are closest in meaning in reference to that which is lacking in moral qualities or is actually vicious and reprehensible. Bad is the broadest and simplest term: a bad man; bad habits. Evil applies to that which violates or leads to the violation of moral law: evil practices. Ill now appears mainly in certain fixed expressions, with a milder implication than that in evil: ill will; ill-natured. Wicked implies willful and determined doing of what is very wrong: a wicked plan. 10. putrefied. 21. adverse, unlucky, unhappy.
Usage note
The adjective bad meaning “unpleasant, unattractive, unfavorable, spoiled, etc.,” is the usual form to follow such copulative verbs as sound, smell, look, and taste: After the rainstorm the water tasted bad. The coach says the locker room smells bad. After the copulative verb feel, the adjective badly in reference to physical or emotional states is also used and is standard, although bad is more common in formal writing: I feel bad from overeating. She felt badly about her friend's misfortune.
When the adverbial use is required, badly is standard with all verbs: She reacted badly to the criticism. Bad as an adverb appears mainly in informal contexts: I didn't do too bad on the tests. He wants money so bad it hurts. See also badly, good.
The adjective bad meaning “unpleasant, unattractive, unfavorable, spoiled, etc.,” is the usual form to follow such copulative verbs as sound, smell, look, and taste: After the rainstorm the water tasted bad. The coach says the locker room smells bad. After the copulative verb feel, the adjective badly in reference to physical or emotional states is also used and is standard, although bad is more common in formal writing: I feel bad from overeating. She felt badly about her friend's misfortune.
When the adverbial use is required, badly is standard with all verbs: She reacted badly to the criticism. Bad as an adverb appears mainly in informal contexts: I didn't do too bad on the tests. He wants money so bad it hurts. See also badly, good.
li adverb
1.
in a defective, incorrect, or undesirable way: The car runs badly.
2.
in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unskilled manner: a vague, badly written letter; He paints badly.
3.
unfavorably: His neighbors spoke badly of him. The weather turned out badly for the cruise.
4.
in a wicked, evil, or morally or legally wrong way.
5.
in a disobedient, naughty, or ethically or socially wrong way: He treats his parents badly.
adjective
Idioms 9.
in ill health; sick: He felt badly.
10.
sorry; regretful: I feel badly about your reaction to my remark.
11.
dejected; downcast.
12.
adjective
1.
of unsound physical or mental health; unwell; sick: She felt ill, so her teacher sent her to the nurse.
2.
objectionable; unsatisfactory; poor; faulty: ill manners.
3.
hostile; unkindly: ill feeling.
4.
evil; wicked; bad: of ill repute.
5.
unfavorable; adverse: ill fortune.
noun
7.
an unfavorable opinion or statement: I can speak no ill of her.
8.
harm or injury: His remarks did much ill.
9.
trouble, distress, or misfortune: Many ills befell him.
10.
evil: to know the difference between good and ill.
11.
sickness or disease.
adverb
Idioms 12.
in an ill manner.
13.
unsatisfactorily; poorly: It ill befits a man to betray old friends.
14.
in a hostile or unfriendly manner.
15.
unfavorably; unfortunately.
16.
with displeasure or offense.
19.
ill at ease, socially uncomfortable; nervous: They were ill at ease because they didn't speak the language.
Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English ill(e) (noun and adj.) < Old Norse illr (adj.) ill, bad
1150–1200; Middle English ill(e) (noun and adj.) < Old Norse illr (adj.) ill, bad
Synonyms
1. unhealthy, ailing, diseased, afflicted. Ill, sick mean being in bad health, not being well. Ill is the more formal word. In the U.S. the two words are used practically interchangeably except that sick is always used when the word modifies the following noun: He looks sick ( ill ); a sick person. In England, sick is not interchangeable with ill but usually has the connotation of nauseous: She got sick and threw up. sick however, is used before nouns just as in the U.S.: a sick man. 4. wrong, iniquitous. See bad1. 8. hurt, pain, affliction, misery. 9. calamity. 10. depravity. 11. illness, affliction. 13. badly.
1. unhealthy, ailing, diseased, afflicted. Ill, sick mean being in bad health, not being well. Ill is the more formal word. In the U.S. the two words are used practically interchangeably except that sick is always used when the word modifies the following noun: He looks sick ( ill ); a sick person. In England, sick is not interchangeable with ill but usually has the connotation of nauseous: She got sick and threw up. sick however, is used before nouns just as in the U.S.: a sick man. 4. wrong, iniquitous. See bad1. 8. hurt, pain, affliction, misery. 9. calamity. 10. depravity. 11. illness, affliction. 13. badly.
Antonyms
1. well, healthy. 4. good.
1. well, healthy. 4. good.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To worst
Collins
World English Dictionary
bad1 (bæd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj , worse, worst, badder, baddest | |
| 1. | not good; of poor quality; inadequate; inferior: bad workmanship; bad soil; bad light for reading |
| 2. | ( |
| 3. | ( |
| 4. | immoral; evil: a bad life |
| 5. | naughty; mischievous; disobedient: a bad child |
| 6. | rotten; decayed; spoiled: a bad egg |
| 7. | severe; intense: a bad headache |
| 8. | incorrect; wrong; faulty: bad pronunciation |
| 9. | ill or in pain (esp in the phrase feel bad) |
| 10. | regretful, sorry, or upset (esp in the phrase feel bad about) |
| 11. | unfavourable; distressing: bad news; a bad business |
| 12. | offensive; unpleasant; disagreeable: bad language; bad temper |
| 13. | not valid or sound; void: a bad cheque |
| 14. | not recoverable: a bad debt |
| 15. | slang good; excellent |
| 16. | go from bad to worse to deteriorate even more |
| 17. | go bad to putrefy; spoil |
| 18. | informal in a bad way |
| a. seriously ill, through sickness or injury | |
| b. in trouble of any kind | |
| 19. | in someone's bad books See book |
| 20. | make the best of a bad job to manage as well as possible in unfavourable circumstances |
| 21. | informal not bad, not so bad passable; fair; fairly good |
| 22. | informal not half bad very good |
| 23. | informal too bad (often used dismissively) regrettable |
| —n | |
| 24. | unfortunate or unpleasant events collectively (often in the phrase take the bad with the good) |
| 25. | an immoral or degenerate state (often in the phrase go to the bad) |
| 26. | the debit side of an account: £200 to the bad |
| 27. | informal (US), (Canadian) my bad my fault or mistake |
| —adv | |
| 28. | not standard badly: to want something bad |
| [C13: probably from bæd-, as the first element of Old English bǣddel hermaphrodite, bǣdling sodomite] | |
| 'baddish1 | |
| —adj | |
| 'badness1 | |
| —n | |
| bad2 (bæd) | |
| —vb | |
| a variant of bade | |
| bade or bad (bæd, beɪd) | |
| —vb | |
| past tense of bid | |
| bad or bad | |
| —vb | |
| badly (ˈbædlɪ) | |
| —adv , worse, worst | |
| 1. | poorly; defectively; inadequately: the chair is badly made |
| 2. | unfavourably; unsuccessfully; unfortunately: our scheme worked out badly |
| 3. | severely; gravely: he was badly hurt |
| 4. | incorrectly or inaccurately: to speak German badly |
| 5. | improperly; naughtily; wickedly: to behave badly |
| 6. | without humanity; cruelly: to treat someone badly |
| 7. | very much (esp in the phrases need badly, badly in need of, want badly) |
| 8. | regretfully: he felt badly about it |
| 9. | badly off poor; impoverished |
| —adj | |
| 10. | dialect (Northern English) (postpositive) ill; poorly |
| ill (ɪl) | |
| —adj , worse, worst | |
| 1. | (usually postpositive) not in good health; sick |
| 2. | characterized by or intending evil, harm, etc; hostile: ill deeds |
| 3. | causing or resulting in pain, harm, adversity, etc: ill effects |
| 4. | ascribing or imputing evil to something referred to: ill repute |
| 5. | promising an unfavourable outcome; unpropitious: an ill omen |
| 6. | harsh; lacking kindness: ill will |
| 7. | not up to an acceptable standard; faulty: ill manners |
| 8. | ill at ease unable to relax; uncomfortable |
| —n | |
| 9. | evil or harm: to wish a person ill |
| 10. | a mild disease |
| 11. | misfortune; trouble |
| —adv | |
| 12. | badly: the title ill befits him |
| 13. | with difficulty; hardly: he can ill afford the money |
| 14. | not rightly: she ill deserves such good fortune |
| [C11 (in the sense: evil): from Old Norse illr bad] | |
| I'll (aɪl) | |
| —contraction of | |
| I will or I shall | |
| worst (wɜːst) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | the superlative of bad |
| —adv | |
| 2. | in the most extreme or bad manner or degree |
| 3. | least well, suitably, or acceptably |
| 4. | (in combination) in or to the smallest degree or extent; least: worst-loved |
| —n | |
| 5. | the worst the least good or most inferior person, thing, or part in a group, narrative, etc |
| 6. | ( |
| 7. | the greatest amount of damage or wickedness of which a person or group is capable: the invaders came and did their worst |
| 8. | the weakest effort or poorest achievement that a person or group is capable of making: the applicant did his worst at the test because he did not want the job |
| 9. | the worst |
| a. in the least favourable interpretation or view | |
| b. under the least favourable conditions | |
| 10. | if the worst comes to the worst if all the more desirable alternatives become impossible or if the worst possible thing happens |
| 11. | come off worst, get the worst of it to enjoy the least benefit from an issue or be defeated in it |
| —vb | |
| 12. | (tr) to get the advantage over; defeat or beat |
| [Old English wierrest; related to Old Frisian wersta, Old Saxon, Old High German wirsisto, Old Norse verstr] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bad
c.1200, a mystery word with no apparent relatives in other languages.* Possibly from O.E. derogatory term bæddel and its dim. bædling "effeminate man, hermaphrodite, pederast," probably related to bædan "to defile." Originally "defective, inferior;" sense of "evil, morally depraved"
is first recorded c.1300. A rare word before 1400, and evil was more common in this sense until c.1700. Comparable words in the other I.E. languages tend to have grown from descriptions of specific qualities, such as "ugly," "defective," "weak," "faithless," "impudent," "crooked," "filthy" (e.g. Gk. kakos, probably from the word for "excrement;" Rus. plochoj, related to O.C.S. plachu "wavering, timid;" Pers. gast, O.Pers. gasta-, related to gand "stench;" Ger. schlecht, originally "level, straight, smooth," whence "simple, ordinary," then "bad"). Comparative and superlative forms badder, baddest were common 14c.-18c. and used as recently as Defoe (but not by Shakespeare), but yielded to comp. worse and superl. worst (which had belonged to evil and ill). In U.S. place names, sometimes translating native terms meaning "supernaturally dangerous." Ironic use as a word of approval is said to be at least since 1890s orally, originally in Black Eng., emerging in print 1928 in a jazz context. It might have emerged from the ambivalence of expressions like bad nigger, used as a term of reproach by whites, but among blacks sometimes representing one who stood up to injustice, but in the U.S. West bad man also had a certain ambivalence:
"These are the men who do most of the killing in frontier communities, yet it is a noteworthy fact that the men who are killed generally deserve their fate." [Farmer & Henley]*Farsi has bad in more or less the same sense as the English word, but this is regarded by linguists as a coincidence. The forms of the words diverge as they are traced back in time (Farsi bad comes from M.Pers. vat), and such accidental convergences exist across many languages, given the vast number of words in each and the limited range of sounds humans can make to signify them. Among other coincidental matches with English are Korean mani "many," Chinese pei "pay," Nahuatl (Aztecan) huel "well," Maya hol "hole."
ill
c.1200, "morally evil" (other 13c. senses were "malevolent, hurtful, unfortunate, difficult"), from O.N. illr "ill, bad," of unknown origin. Not related to evil. Main modern sense of "sick, unhealthy, unwell" is first recorded c.1460, probably related to O.N. idiom "it is bad to me." Illness "disease,
sickness" is from 1689. Slang sense of "very good, cool" is 1980s.
worst
O.E. wyrresta, from P.Gmc. *wers-ista- (cf. O.S. wirsista, O.N. verstr, O.Fris. wersta, O.H.G. wirsisto), superlative of PIE *wers- "to confuse, mix up" (see worse). The verb meaning "damage, inflict loss upon" is first recorded c.1600, from the adj. Phrase in the worst way
(1839) is from Amer.Eng. sense of "most severely."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
ill (ĭl)
adj. worse (wûrs), worst (wûrst)
Not healthy; sick.
Not normal, as a condition; unsound.
A disease or illness, especially of animals.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary
bad definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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ill definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
| BAD French Banque africaine de développement (African Development Bank) |
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
worst
see at worst; get (have) the worst of it; if worst comes to worst; in the worst way. Also see under worse.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences from the web
A hardmouthed dog renders game unpresentable or at worst inedible.
The worst horror movie ever made remake is currently in production according to www.
Shaw would later call it one of his worst works, but he had found his medium.
Many of them occurred in the north and the worst of all was in chicago.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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