: in a poor condition or manner
: somewhat ill : indisposed
Synonyms
Examples of poorly in a Sentence
Adverb
he tends to perform poorly on standardized tests
Adjective
she stayed home because she was feeling poorly
Recent Examples on the Web
Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
Traditionally, companies cut temporary workers before laying off their own permanent staffers, so the sharp drop-off augurs poorly for future job growth, Nicaj says.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
Children with weak executive functions fare poorly in school, and are socially and physically unhealthy.
—Marc D. Hauser, TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
The stock market opened poorly, with the Dow dropping by 450 points, and the cryptocurrency market is following the same trend.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
After nearly a century of disagreements over what, exactly, defines the condition, as well as a lack of research, PCOS is still poorly understood.
—Caroline Hopkins, NBC News, 31 Mar. 2024
But China is now poorly positioned to engineer such a shift.
—Daniel H. Rosen, Foreign Affairs, 27 Mar. 2024
Unfortunately, a lack of trust in innovation is a key finding in the latest Edelman Trust Barometer, which reveals that survey participants, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, believe that innovation is being managed poorly—more specifically, that government has too much say in innovation.
—Eric Reicin, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
At the same time, Mr. Trump fares poorly among highly engaged voters, like those who vote in special elections.
—Nate Cohn, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024
Story will be a free agent and at this stage why would an accomplished player stay with the poorly run Rockies?
—BostonGlobe.com, 27 Mar. 2021
Adverb
Even though Family Dollar has renovated thousands of stores in recent years, many stores are still poorly maintained, analysts say.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
Traditionally, companies cut temporary workers before laying off their own permanent staffers, so the sharp drop-off augurs poorly for future job growth, Nicaj says.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
Children with weak executive functions fare poorly in school, and are socially and physically unhealthy.
—Marc D. Hauser, TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
The stock market opened poorly, with the Dow dropping by 450 points, and the cryptocurrency market is following the same trend.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
After nearly a century of disagreements over what, exactly, defines the condition, as well as a lack of research, PCOS is still poorly understood.
—Caroline Hopkins, NBC News, 31 Mar. 2024
But China is now poorly positioned to engineer such a shift.
—Daniel H. Rosen, Foreign Affairs, 27 Mar. 2024
Unfortunately, a lack of trust in innovation is a key finding in the latest Edelman Trust Barometer, which reveals that survey participants, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, believe that innovation is being managed poorly—more specifically, that government has too much say in innovation.
—Eric Reicin, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
At the same time, Mr. Trump fares poorly among highly engaged voters, like those who vote in special elections.
—Nate Cohn, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Both the United States and the United Nations have stepped back from leadership roles, a reflection of how poorly interventions in Haiti have gone and also the wide range of issues in other parts of the world at the moment.
—Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024
Story will be a free agent and at this stage why would an accomplished player stay with the poorly run Rockies?
—BostonGlobe.com, 27 Mar. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poorly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing poorly
Dictionary Entries Near poorly
Cite this Entry
“Poorly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poorly. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
poorly
adjective
poor·ly
ˈpu̇(ə)r-lē,
ˈpō(ə)r-
: somewhat ill
More from Merriam-Webster on poorly
Nglish: Translation of poorly for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of poorly for Arabic Speakers
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