Poorly — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

somewhat ill or prone to illness

(`ill' is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pˈʊɹli/

🇬🇧British English

/pˈʊəli/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pˈʊəli/

2 syllables Say it as /pˈʊɹli/.

Examples

my poor ailing grandmother
feeling a bit indisposed today
you look a little peaked

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

ailing badly sickly peaked seedy ill unwell indisposed under the weather

Antonyms

well

Parts of Speech

adjective	somewhat ill or prone to illness “my poor ailing grandmother”
adverb	(`ill' is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well “he was ill prepared”

Word Forms

unwellness

noun

impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

schlecht

etwas krank oder anfällig für Krankheiten

🇫🇷French

médiocrement

quelque peu malade ou sujet à la maladie

🇪🇸Spanish

mal

algo enfermo o propenso a enfermarse

🇮🇹Italian

male

un po' malato o incline alla malattia

🇳🇱Dutch

slecht

enigszins ziek of vatbaar voor ziekte

🇵🇹Portuguese

mal

um pouco doente ou propenso a doenças

🇷🇺Russian

плохо

несколько болен или склонен к болезни

India

🇮🇳Hindi

खराब

कुछ हद तक बीमार या बीमारी से ग्रस्त

🇧🇩Bengali

খারাপভাবে

কিছুটা অসুস্থ বা অসুস্থতা প্রবণ

🇮🇳Tamil

மோசமாக

ஓரளவு நோய்வாய்ப்பட்ட அல்லது நோய்க்கு ஆளாகிறது

🇮🇳Telugu

పేలవంగా

కొంత అనారోగ్యం లేదా అనారోగ్యానికి గురయ్యే అవకాశం ఉంది

🇮🇳Marathi

असमाधानकारकपणे

काहीसे आजारी किंवा आजाराला प्रवण

🇮🇳Gujarati

ખરાબ રીતે

કંઈક અંશે બીમાર અથવા બીમારી થવાની સંભાવના

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕಳಪೆಯಾಗಿ

ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಅನಾರೋಗ್ಯ ಅಥವಾ ಅನಾರೋಗ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಗುರಿಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

മോശമായി

അൽപ്പം അസുഖം അല്ലെങ്കിൽ അസുഖത്തിന് സാധ്യതയുണ്ട്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਮਾੜਾ

ਕੁਝ ਹੱਦ ਤਕ ਬਿਮਾਰ ਜਾਂ ਬਿਮਾਰੀ ਦਾ ਖ਼ਤਰਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

خراب

کسی حد تک بیمار یا بیماری کا شکار

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

不好地

有点病或容易生病

🇯🇵Japanese

下手な

やや病気、または病気になりやすい

🇰🇷Korean

신통치 않게

다소 아프거나 질병에 걸리기 쉬운

🇻🇳Vietnamese

kém

hơi ốm yếu hoặc dễ bị bệnh

🇹🇭Thai

ไม่ดี

ค่อนข้างป่วยหรือมีแนวโน้มที่จะเจ็บป่วย

🇮🇩Indonesian

buruk

agak sakit atau rentan terhadap penyakit

🇵🇭Filipino

mahina

medyo may sakit o madaling kapitan ng sakit

🇲🇾Malay

teruk

agak sakit atau terdedah kepada penyakit

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

سيئة

مريض إلى حد ما أو عرضة للمرض

🇮🇷Persian

ضعیف

تا حدودی بیمار یا مستعد بیماری است

🇹🇷Turkish

kötü

biraz hasta veya hastalığa yatkın

🇮🇱Hebrew

בצורה גרועה

חולה במקצת או נוטה למחלה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'poorly'?

The primary meaning of 'poorly' is 'somewhat ill or prone to illness'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'poorly' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'poorly' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'poorly' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'poorly' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'poorly' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'poorly' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'poorly' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'poorly' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'poorly' in a professional email?

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Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'poorly' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted