poorly

[ poor-lee ]

adverb

1. in a poor manner or way:

   The team played poorly.

adjective

1. in poor health; somewhat ill:

   I hear she's been poorly.

poorly

/ ˈpɔː-; ˈpʊəlɪ /

adverb

1. in a poor way or manner; badly

adjective

1. informal.
   usually postpositive in poor health; rather ill

   she's poorly today

Word History and Origins

Origin of poorly¹

First recorded in 1250–1300, poorly is from the Middle English word pourely. See poor, -ly

Example Sentences

He called the inheritance rules “so poorly thought out”.

From BBC

And at poorly performing trusts, government and NHS England "deep dives" will identify the most pressing issues and how they can be resolved.

From BBC

Statements of the UK population growing annually by a total equal to the population of a city such Oxford or Nottingham – as popularised by Migration Watch and employed by politicians including Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage – don’t give a true impression of the dispersal of those arrivals, nor of how successfully or poorly they are absorbed into existing demand for public services.

From BBC

The first half went about as poorly as possible for the Bruins.

From Los Angeles Times

Even back in 2016, Trump was raving about how he loves "the poorly educated."

From Salon

Related Words

• ill