The polluted air filled Nora’s lungs, provoking a huge coughing fit. sassy, scandalous, scarred, scurvy, seamy, second-class, second-rate, seedy, senseless, serious, shabby, shameless, shocking, shoddy, sickening, sinful, sinister, sketchy, slipshod, slummy, somber, sordid, sorry, sour, spiteful, spoiled, squalid, stale, stormy, stressful, subpar, substandard, swinish, T Or hate. My eyes filled with tears. I’m sure he was lying. Reword any phrase, rephrase any sentences, rewrite any expression. Worst were mornings, when she felt so bad she wanted to upchuck her breakfast. I expect we’ll start serious submissions in 2018. It affected his work performance. The letter contained a notice of eviction. Pick one. Time to cut the Pinocchio strings. These adjectives will help you target the connotation you need in your writing. Three bad grades, four mediocre, and one good. In these situations, people often say: Whoops! While I am reading the new posts, I am also regularly searching the older ones also. He had replaced the battery and checked the connections. tainted, tarnished, tawdry, terrible, the pits, third-rate, tragic, traitorous, traumatic, treacherous, troublesome, U What’s your favorite workaround for bad? Clint’s breath was so rank it filled the entire elevator. I had a nightmare about Hank again last night. Polluted suits the scenario and provides a touch of alliteration. 200 Ways to Say “Bad”: A Word List for Writers, KathySteinemann.com: Free Resources for Writers and Poets, Something that is wrong, inaccurate, or faulty, Anything that causes sickness, harm, or injury. Sorry ‘bout that. Simply saying "sorry" is most common with small mistakes, like bumping into someone or saying someone’s name wrong. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! In the next group, we’ll continue the thought of a sister’s obituary. Note the Comparative and Superlative Forms of Bad. I felt mean because I hadn’t called my sister for three years. I’d love to hear from you. Not his fault his house had been repossessed because of a bad loan with an exorbitant interest rate. We haven’t been submission crazy yet, because we know it could still use work. Congrats on Hodderscape’s and good luck with the serious submissions. In these examples, the word is redundant. Leslie will pick up on that when she’s recharged; I’ve just been using your lists to replace dull words with stronger imagery. I felt bad because I hadn’t called my sister for three years. Three customers had accused him of providing bad service. "Cher swerves - to avoid killing a person on a bicycle. “Well if you hadn’t blown all our money at that casino and got us kicked out by that bad-ass bouncer, we might have been able to afford something decent.”. “I told you we were having supper in fifteen minutes.”. We huddled together in the bad winter weather and prayed for the rescue choppers to arrive before it was too late. Maybe she ingested poison because of something in the school’s environment. “That’s an incorrect assumption,” said the professor. Although malfunctioning works as a direct replacement for bad, other words that might provide a more concise picture include shorted, depleted, and corroded. unacceptable, uncontrollable, uncooperative, undeserving, undesirable, unethical, unfavorable, unfit, unfortunate, unhealthy, unlucky, unmanageable, unpalatable, unpleasant, unprincipled, unproductive, unreasonable, unruly, unsatisfactory, unsavory, unscrupulous, unsound, unwelcome, unwell, unwholesome, unworthy, upsetting, useless, V and W Can you imagine The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with any other title? However, a protagonist might say something like “Billy’s the baddest boy in these here parts, badder than anyone I ever seen.”. The second sentence is stronger than the first, but English has a word for bad dream: nightmare. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Can you twist this into a dramatic surprise? How close are you to publishing, David? Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts. Now readers envision cause followed by consequence. This one was difficult; I ended up going through all of my instances of “bad” about three times before I was satisfied. Do you have any words you’d like me to research? Now we show the narrator’s emotion and remove the filter word felt. egregious, errant, erroneous, evil, execrable, exorbitant, expensive, false, faulty, felonious, fetid, fiendish, flagitious, flagrant, flea-bitten, fleabag, foul, fruitless, G and H But she was so tired all the time. A bad battery sent the drone into a catastrophic spin. However, overuse of bad will nettle readers. Do I need to comment? Ariel felt bad about her latest report card. Next week will be 200 Ways to Say “Good.”. “The rent isn’t too steep, so I signed the lease,” Brett said. Do bad or mean appropriately describe the emotion sparked by a broken family relationship? Mostly we enter competitions, submit to whoever makes a request, and keep their feedback in mind for the next revision. Do your characters nod or roll their eyes like marionettes? 'My bad' has gained that unequivocal accolade - … I find the little words the most difficult. Carole landed on her back, a bad pain knifing through her shoulders, as Samba ran away. Here’s an alternative approach that includes a bit of tension: “I can afford the rent increase, honestly, I can,” Brett said. Relax and enjoy your creative journey —. abhorrent, abject, abominable, abysmal, adulterated, adverse, alarming, amateurish, amiss, annoying, appalling, atrocious, austere, awful, barbaric, barbarous, barfy, base, beastly, befouled, below-par, bent, blah, blemished, blighted, brutal, bum, C Can you edit out all instances of bad in the following? A single edit tells about Brandon’s reputation, without increasing word count. There are a few slang phrases that you can also use for slight mistakes: Oh, my bad. Find more similar words at wordhippo.com! This connotation of bad refers to a monetary amount. If room allows, we could pen something more elaborate: Brandon sold drugs in the shadows, ever alert to security cameras and police patrols. Clint’s breath was so bad it filled the entire elevator. Remember, it’s bad, worse, worst (not bad, badder, baddest). The bad air filled Nora’s lungs, provoking a huge coughing fit. Commonly, people use it to decline an invitation or express regret at not being able to fulfill a request. Who is Hank? Oh! They come to mind easily, but they’re not so easy to replace. With just a few extra words, we incorporate details that could segue into suspense or tragedy. However, it may be perceived as sarcastic in casual settings, so choose carefully when and with whom to use it. dangerous, dastardly, debauched, decadent, decayed, decaying, decomposed, decomposing, defective, defiant, deficient, degenerate, deleterious, depraved, despicable, deplorable, detestable, detrimental, devastating, diabolical, difficult, dilapidated, dire, disastrous, disagreeable, diseased, disgraceful, disgusting, disheartening, dishonest, dishonorable, dismaying, disobedient, disorderly, displeasing, disruptive, distasteful, distressing, disturbing, dreadful, E and F