poorly

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms.

poor·ly

(po͝or′lē)

adv.

In a poor manner. See Usage Note at poor.

adj. Chiefly Southern US

In poor health; ill: feeling poorly. See Usage Note at bad¹.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

poorly

(ˈpʊəlɪ; ˈpɔː-)

adv

in a poor way or manner; badly

adj

(usually postpositive) informal in poor health; rather ill: she's poorly today.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

poor•ly

(ˈpʊər li)

adv.

1. in a poor manner or way: to write poorly.

adj.

2. in poor health; somewhat ill.

[1250–1300]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	poorly - somewhat ill or prone to illness; "my poor ailing grandmother"; "feeling a bit indisposed today"; "you look a little peaked"; "feeling poorly"; "a sickly child"; "is unwell and can't come to work" ailing, indisposed, peaked, under the weather, unwell, sickly, seedy ill, sick - affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function; "ill from the monotony of his suffering"
Adv.	1.	poorly - (`ill' is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well; "he was ill prepared"; "it ill befits a man to betray old friends"; "the car runs badly"; "he performed badly on the exam"; "the team played poorly"; "ill-fitting clothes"; "an ill-conceived plan" ill, badly combining form - a bound form used only in compounds; "`hemato-' is a combining form in words like `hematology'"

poorly

adverb

1. badly, incompetently, inadequately, crudely, inferiorly, unsuccessfully, insufficiently, shabbily, unsatisfactorily, inexpertly poorly built houses
badly well, expertly, sufficiently, adequately, satisfactorily, competently, acceptably

adjective

1. (Informal) ill, sick, ailing, unwell, crook (Austral. & N.Z. informal), seedy (informal), below par, out of sorts, off colour, under the weather (informal), indisposed, feeling rotten (informal) I've just phoned Julie and she's still poorly.
ill well, fit, healthy, in good health, in the pink, hale and hearty

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

poorly

adjective

Chiefly Regional. Suffering from or affected with an illness:

down, ill, sick, unwell.

Informal: laid up.

Translations

بِرداءَه، بصورَةٍ سَيِّئَهمَريضمَرِيض

indisponovanýnemocnýuboze

dårligtsyg

dürftig krank kränklich

φτωχικός

mal pachucho enfermo indispuesto

huonokuntoinen

malade pauvrement mal

bolestan

illa, lélegalasinn

malandato male poveramente

体調が悪い

건강이 나쁜

bornoslabo

krasslig

ไม่ค่อยสบาย

acemice hastakötü/fena bir şekilde

ốm

健康不佳的拙劣地生病的贫穷地

poorly

[ˈpʊəlɪ]

A. ADV

1. (= badly) [designed, equipped] → mal
the shares have performed poorly → el rendimiento de las acciones ha sido bajo
to do poorly she did poorly in history → sacó mala nota en historia
she did poorly at school → sacaba malas notas en el colegio
the room/road was poorly lit → la habitación/la carretera estaba mal iluminada
the job was poorly paid → el trabajo estaba mal pagado
he was poorly paid → le pagaban poco
his army was poorly trained → su ejército estaba poco capacitado

2. (= meagrely, shabbily) → pobremente
to be poorly dressed → ir pobremente vestido

B. ADJ (esp Brit) (= ill) → enfermo
to be/feel poorly → estar/encontrarse mal, estar/encontrarse pachucho or malucho
to look poorly → tener mal aspecto

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

poorly

[ˈpʊə^rli ˈpɔː^rli]

adv

(= low) [paid] → mal

(= badly) [trained, designed, equipped, understood] → mal; [furnished, finished] → mal; [perform, play, fare, sell] → mal
He did poorly at school
BUT Il n'a pas fait de bonnes études.
poorly attended
The classes were poorly attended → Les cours étaient peu fréquentés.
The meetings were poorly attended → Peu de gens assistaient aux réunions.
poorly performing adj [hospital, social service] → où la prestation de services est médiocre; [school] → dont les résultats sont médiocres; [company] → dont les résultats sont médiocres; [shares, trust] → dont le rendement est médiocre

adj → souffrant(e), malade
She's poorly → Elle est souffrante.
to look poorly → avoir l'air souffrant

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

poorly

adv

→ arm; dressed, furnished → ärmlich; poorly off → schlecht gestellt; her husband left her very poorly off → ihr Mann ließ sie in sehr ärmlichen Verhältnissen zurück

(= badly) → schlecht; (= inadequately) supported, understood → schlecht, unzureichend; poorly-attended → schlecht besucht; poorly-designed → schlecht konstruiert, nicht genügend durchdacht; poorly-educated → ohne (ausreichende) Schulbildung; poorly-equipped → schlecht ausgerüstet; poorly-lit → schlecht or schwach beleuchtet; poorly-paid → schlecht bezahlt; poorly-trained → schlecht ausgebildet, ungeschult; poorly-ventilated → schlecht gelüftet; to do poorly (at something) (→ in etw dat) → schwach or schlecht abschneiden; we’re rather poorly off for staff/new ideas → wir haben einen ziemlichen Mangel an Personal/neuen Ideen

adj pred (Brit: = ill) → schlecht, krank, elend; to be or feel poorly → sich schlecht etc fühlen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

poorly

[ˈpʊəlɪ]

1. adv (badly) → male
a poorly paid job → un lavoro mal retribuito
a poorly furnished room → una stanza arredata squallidamente
to be poorly off → non avere molti soldi

2. adj (ill) → indisposto/a
I'm a bit poorly today → oggi mi sento poco bene

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

poor

(puə) adjective

1. having little money or property. She is too poor to buy clothes for the children; the poor nations of the world.

2. not good; of bad quality. His work is very poor; a poor effort.

3. deserving pity. Poor fellow!

ˈpoorness noun

ˈpoorly adverb

not well; badly. a poorly written essay.

adjective

ill. He is very poorly.

poorly

→ مَرِيض indisponovaný dårligt krank φτωχικός enfermo, mal huonokuntoinen malade bolestan malandato 体調が悪い 건강이 나쁜 minnetjes dårlig cierpiący indisposto бедно krasslig ไม่ค่อยสบาย acemice ốm 生病的

poorly

adv mal

References in classic literature ?

"I am afraid you will think poorly enough of your new ally, after this?"

View in context

Such were the locksmith's thoughts when first seated in the snug corner, and slowly recovering from a pleasant defect of vision-- pleasant, because occasioned by the wind blowing in his eyes--which made it a matter of sound policy and duty to himself, that he should take refuge from the weather, and tempted him, for the same reason, to aggravate a slight cough, and declare he felt but poorly. Such were still his thoughts more than a full hour afterwards, when, supper over, he still sat with shining jovial face in the same warm nook, listening to the cricket-like chirrup of little Solomon Daisy, and bearing no unimportant or slightly respected part in the social gossip round the Maypole fire.

View in context

Shimerda was a good housewife in her own country, but she managed poorly under new conditions: the conditions were bad enough, certainly!

View in context

You have thought but poorly of me, Makar Alexievitch.--Your friend and lover,

View in context

But poorly could I withstand them, much as in other moods I was almost ready to smile at the solemn whimsicalities of that outlandish prophet of the wharves.

View in context

Then we bought the merchandise of the country, and were just going to sail once more, when I was stopped on the shore by a beautiful though poorly dressed woman.

View in context

He looked poorly, and was dressed in a red cotton pocket-handkerchief.

View in context

She has not been at all well these three months, and now that the damp weather has begun she is very poorly indeed; so that last week papa decided to have a consultation, and he and mamma went with her up to town and saw some three or four doctors.

View in context

Joseph Alexeevich is living poorly and has for three years been suffering from a painful disease of the bladder.

View in context

At present I can only express, and that poorly, my sense of personal obligation to him.

View in context

Poorly protected from the Pacific Ocean, chill winds and dense fog-banks whistled and swirled sadly across the sand-dunes.

View in context

Pontellier had saved her that disagreeable mission, for which she was so poorly fitted.