Synonyms: Bad

Abominari is a Latin verb meaning "to detest" or "to shun." The omin in there comes from the same root as omen, so an abomination is something you'd react to like a curse: avoid at any cost.

Adverse means the opposite of what was intended, and is often used in a health context, especially referring to side effects of medications. This makes sense, since adverse comes from the Latin adversus, meaning "opposed," "antagonistic," or "hostile." It's also the source of adversity, meaning "intense difficulty."

The Latin root atroci- means "fierce" or "cruel." In English, the meaning has shifted somewhat towards anything awful or dismaying.

From the Latin corruptus, meaning "destroyed," "broken," or "spoiled," corrupt is most often used to describe politicians or other public officials who steal, take bribes, or otherwise break the law and betray the public trust.

Dastard is an obsolete English word meaning "a coward" or "an idiot." Dastardly survives, though it has an old-fashioned flavor. It's most often seen modifying words like "deed," "plan," or "scheme."

Deficient comes from the Latin verb defecere, meaning "to fail" or "to undo," which also gives us words like deficit.

From the Latin despicabilis, "looked down upon," despicable refers to a person or an action that is beneath contempt: evil.

Aster is the Greek word for "star," and terrible events were said to occur under a "bad star:" a disaster. A tornado is a disaster, and so is a big-budget movie that flops.

Dread is Middle English for mortal terror, or a kind of worship — of a deity or a ruler — based on fear. The fear component is largely gone now, as it is from terrible, but the sense of extreme awfulness remains.

Execrat- is a Latin root meaning "to curse," the opposite of "sacred." To call something execrable is to say that it's hateful, unforgivable, evil.

A Germanic word, grim denotes darkness, despair, and a bleak outlook. A situation can be grim, and so can an intimidatingly dour person.

Originally harsh referred to rough textures that were unpleasant to touch. Now it can describe anything that's unpleasant to any of the senses, or a severe punishment.

In Latin, horrere means "to shake," "to shudder at," or "to stand on end" like your hair does when you're frightened. It's the root of horror and horrible, which should give you a good sense of what horrid is all about.

Often comparing two or more things is the best way to show their differences. Something inferior is of lower quality; it's the opposite of superior.

A louse is a tiny, blood-sucking insect that lives on mammals, including unlucky humans. If you've ever had the school nurse drag a fine-tooth comb through your hair, you understand. Something lousy is, metaphorically speaking, dirty, gross, and covered in bugs.

Latin for "doing evil," maleficent originally referred to an evil deed or spell.

In Latin, male "evil" plus volentem "wishing" equals someone who wants bad things to happen to others, and acts accordingly.

Naught or nought is an archaic English word for "nothing," still used in Britain to refer to the number zero. Naughty can describe all sorts of misbehavior as well as the people involved.

Putridus means "rotten," "foul," or "decaying" in Latin. Putrid can refer to anything disgusting, often with a particular focus on smell.

Similar to putrid, above, rancid describes spoiled food and foul smells.

Latin for "rejected," reprobate refers to someone too immoral, depraved, or wicked to live in civilized society.

Rotten is Middle Dutch for "to rot," and it can be used to describe spoiled food, a thoroughly unpleasant person, or a grossly unkind act.

Although it's not related to slipshod, below, shoddy has a similar meaning: poorly or sloppily made.

Down at the heels is an expression that means "broke," "impoverished," or "unfortunate." It describes a person wearing beaten-up old shoes with the heels pressed flat under their feet, making slippers out of them. Shod is the past participle of shoe, as in to shoe a horse. Something slipshod is lazy, sloppy, or otherwise badly executed.

Standard can mean "the norm," so substandard is worse than that: below average, unsatisfactory.

Fortune is luck, from the Latin fortuna, so unfortunate describes an unlucky person or a failure of some sort.

Like a ruler is used to draw straight lines, rules are created to keep order in institutions and societies. Someone unruly is unable to follow rules.

From the Latin vilis, meaning "cheap," "common," or "mean," vile means something worse than that: disgusting, debased, evil.

Villain is more often used to describe the bad guy in a movie than a real person, though it can be used in that sense.

Wicca is Old English for "wizard" — the feminine, wicce, means "witch" — and over time wicked came to describe any cruel or destructive person or action.