badly

/ˈbæd.li/

//ˈbæd.li// adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"badly" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“badly” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,351. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,351
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a bad manner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-badly · badly · English

badly · rank #3,351 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,351
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH awareness

Nearest frequency peer: awareness (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “badly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “badly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

badly vs bay
60% similar
badly vs bal
60% similar
badly vs bly
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for badly
PropertyValue
Headwordbadly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈbæd.li/
Letters5
Frequency rank#3,351
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “badly”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).badlylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “awareness” (#3,350), “bath” (#3,352), “assault” (#3,349). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “badly” is #3,351. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around badly (IPA /ˈbæd.li/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #3,351 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for badly, with forms such as "abdly", "baddly", and "badlly". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bay", "bal", "bly", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English badly, baddely, baddeliche, equivalent to bad + -ly. The correct English form is badly, spelled B-A-D-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a bad manner.
  2. 2
    Very much; to a great degree.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how badly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Things are going badly for her: she did badly in her exams owing to a badly designed studying schedule.
  2. Don't think badly of me, give me the benefit of the doubt.

Etymology

From Middle English badly, baddely, baddeliche, equivalent to bad + -ly.

This word in other languages

malamente(Español)mal(Français)schlecht(Deutsch)mal(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abdly
  • baddly
  • badlly
  • badlyy
  • badyl
  • bbadly
  • bdaly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of badly - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

abdly2baddly1badlly1badlyy1badyl2bbadly1bdaly2
Edit distance from "badly"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "badly"?
"badly" is spelled B-A-D-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbæd.li/.
What does "badly" mean?
As an adverb, "badly" means: In a bad manner.
What words are commonly confused with "badly"?
"badly" is commonly confused with "bay", "bal", "bly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "badly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "badly" is /ˈbæd.li/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "badly"?
From Middle English badly, baddely, baddeliche, equivalent to bad + -ly. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "badly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chase#3,354woods#3,345uncle#3,342trail#3,341

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

suffer7 variantsHarris7 variantsrefer7 variantspasses7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list