poorly

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poorly^¹

/ˈpʊə.li/ UK
/ˈpɔː.li/ UK
/ˈpʊɹ.li/ US
/ˈpoɹ.li/ US

Rhymes with -ʊə(ɹ)li, -ɔː(ɹ)li

Where it comes from

From Middle English poorly, pouerly, poreliche, poureliche, pouerliche, equivalent to poor + -ly.

adverb more poorly · poorlier · most poorly · poorliest

In a poor manner or condition; without plenty, or sufficiency, or suitable provision for comfort. to live poorly
With little or no success; indifferently; with little profit or advantage. to do poorly in business
Meanly; without spirit. Nor is their courage or their wealth so low, / That from his wars they poorly would retire.
Without skill or merit. He plays tennis poorly.
In a negative manner; with disapproval; unfavorably. I think poorly of them.

poorly^²

/ˈpʊə.li/ UK
/ˈpɔː.li/ UK
/ˈpʊɹ.li/ US
/ˈpoɹ.li/ US

Rhymes with -ʊə(ɹ)li, -ɔː(ɹ)li

adjective poorlier · more poorly · poorliest · most poorly

UK Ill, unwell, sick. to report one's child poorly

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: badly, ill, indisposed, ailing, sick, sickly, unwell, peaked, poor, inadequately, insufficiently, bad, weak, inefficiently, lousy, sinful

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MLA

"poorly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/poorly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

poorly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/poorly

Chicago

"poorly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/poorly.

BibTeX

@misc{poorly_2026,
  title = {poorly},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/poorly},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}