badness

noun

Definition of badnessnext
as in sinfulness
the state or quality of being utterly evil the villain's complete badness made him a good foil for the unfailingly virtuous hero

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of badness On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder. — Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2026 The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026 As if to prove that it can’t be exceeded in badness, Playdate has both. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 12 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badness
  1. sinfulness
  2. evilness
  3. atrocity
Noun
  • But soon after, in Genesis 18, God tells Abraham of plans to investigate reports of sinfulness in Sodom and Gomorrah.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026
  • Denver author Josiah Hesse was raised by Evangelical parents in churches that believe in the torments of hell, that their poverty is due to their sinfulness and lack of faith.
    — Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
Definition of sinfulness
Noun
  • That was really what helped me into the character and into her evilness.
    — William Earl, Variety, 4 Oct. 2025
Definition of evilness
Noun
  • More than 120,000 of these atrocities are operating in the United States today — and that number is rapidly growing.
    — Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The Disappearers is, among other things, one novel responding to many atrocities.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of atrocity

Browse Nearby Words

bad-mouths
badness
baffle
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Cite this Entry

“Badness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badness. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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