28 Better Ways to Say "Very Bad" - Get More Vocab (2024)

You can do better than verybad. It’s a boring, imprecise term.

Here are 28 descriptive adjectives you can use instead.

You almost certainly know these words already. We use them all as substitutes for very bad. Note that the descriptive adjectives below are often better choices than terrible, awful, and horrible.

We use horrendous and abysmalas more severe forms of terrible, horrible, andawful. If terrible, horrible, and awful mean “very bad,” then horrendousand abysmal mean “extremely bad.”

“Trust me, you don’t want me to sing. My voice ishorrendous.”

“The president’s approval rating is absolutely abysmal. No one seems to like him.”

We uselousyto talk about things that areof very poor quality.

Some collocations with lousy arelousy job, lousy day, lousy idea, lousy place, lousy teacher, lousy student, lousy actor, (lousy + any profession), lousy father/mother/son/daughter/brother etc.

“Kenneth was a lousy student in high school, but he straightened things out in college.”

Photo by Roger Price on Flickr.

appalling

We useappalling to talk about things that cause shock, horror and/or outrage.

Some collocations with appalling areappalling conditions, appalling sight, appalling sound, appalling result, appalling record, andabsolutely/positively appalling.

“There have been some appalling human rights violations in that country.”

atrocious

We use atrocious totalk about things that are extremely wicked, cruel, or brutal.

We can also use atrocious to communicate that something is extremely bad.(Dictionary.com)

Some collocations with atrocious are atrocious act, atrocious behavior, atrocious crime, atrocious law, and atrocious language.

“The prosecutor is seeking the maximum penalty for this atrocious crime.” (atrocious = shockingly wicked, cruel)

“The weather has been atrocious. I haven’t seen the sun in weeks.” (atrocious = extremely bad)

dreadful

We use dreadful to talk about things that involve great suffering, fear, or unhappiness.

We also use dreadful to talk about things that are extremely disagreeable.

We can also use use dreadful to talk about people who are unwell or troubled. (Oxford Dictionaries)

Some collocations with dreadful are dreadful disease, dreadful condition, dreadful storm, dreadful news, dreadful sight, dreadful scene, dreadful state, anddreadful day.

“Cancer is a dreadful disease.” (dreadful = involving great suffering)

“Karen had an absolutely dreadful day at work.” (dreadful = extremely disagreeable)

“I feel dreadful. I need some sleep.” (dreadful = unwell)

dire

We use dire to talk about things that areextremely serious or urgent. (Oxford Dictionaries)

Some collocations with dire are dire situation,dire prediction, dire moment,in dire straits (in a very bad situation), and dire condition.

“Climatologists are making dire predictions about the future of the planet.”

gruesome, grisly

We use gruesome and grislyto talk about things that cause horror and disgust.

Some collocations with gruesome are gruesome scene, gruesome image, gruesome case, gruesome account, gruesome story, gruesome crime, gruesome murder, gruesome picture, gruesome death, gruesome accident, and gruesome details.

Some collocations with grisly are grisly death, grisly horror, grisly details, grisly spectacle, grisly photos,grisly task, grisly beast, grisly terror, and grisly business.

“The article gives all the gruesome details of the murder.”

“The jury was shown all the grisly photos of the crime scene.”

disastrous

We use disastrous to talk about things that cause a lot of damage.

Some collocations with disastrous are disastrous consequences, disastrous fire, disastrous flood, disastrous event, disastrous day, disastrous situation, disastrous experience, and disastrous result.

“The storm was disastrous. It caused millions of dollars in damages.”

catastrophic

We use catastrophic to talk about thingsthat involve or cause great damage or suffering. (Oxford Dictionaries)

Some collocations with catastrophic are catastrophic accident, catastrophic event, catastrophic failure, catastrophic experience, catastrophic result,catastrophic decision, catastrophic illness, catastrophic natural disaster, catastrophic plan, catastrophic risk, catastrophic storm, catastrophic hurricane, and catastrophic tornado.

“Catastrophic events led to the extinction of many prehistoric species.”

Americans have experienced several catastrophic hurricanes in the last few years. (Photo by WikiImages from Pixabay)

tragic

We use tragic to talk about things that are sad, harmful, or fatal. (yourdictionary.com)

Some collocations with tragic are tragic life, tragic death, tragic story, tragic event, tragic consequences, tragic accident, tragic history, tragic situation, tragic mistake, and tragic result.

“I blame his tragic childhood for the way he turned out.”

deplorable

We use deplorable to talk about things thatdeservestrong condemnation, are completely unacceptable, or are shockingly bad in quality. (Oxford Dictionaries)

Some collocations with deplorable are deplorable conditions, deplorable behavior, deplorable actions, and deplorable person.

“Our city’s infrastructure is absolutely deplorable. We must do something about it.”

abhorrent

We use abhorrent to talk about something that causes strong dislike or hatred. (Merriam-Webster)

Some collocations with abhorrent are abhorrent acts, abhorrent behavior, and abhorrent conditions.

“Unfortunately, the organization has a long, abhorrent history of racial prejudice.”

despicable

We use despicable to talk about something that deserves strong hatred or contempt. (Oxford Dictionaries)

Some collocations with despicable are despicable character, despicable actions, despicable acts, despicable crimes,despicable human being, despicable joke, despicable lyrics, despicable person, and despicable quote.

“In the last thirty years, the country has been run by a series of despicable leaders.”

heinous

We use heinous to communicate that something is extremely wicked and morally wrong.

Some collocations with heinous are heinous crime, heinous offense, heinous charge, heinous act, heinous murder.

“Rape is a heinous crime that should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

reprehensible

We use reprehensible to talk about things that deserve strong disapproval.

Some collocations with reprehensible are reprehensible acts, reprehensible actions, reprehensible behavior, reprehensible conduct, and reprehensible offense.

“I’m not ready to forgive you. What you did was utterly reprehensible.”

shameful

We use shameful to talk about things that cause humiliation or shame.

Some collocations with shameful are shameful acts, shameful behavior, shameful feelings, shameful history, shameful picture, shameful thoughts, shameful secrets, and shameful words.

“Please don’t post those shameful pictures on Instagram.”

horrid

We use horrid to talk about things that cause horror.

We also use horrid to talk about things that are extremely unpleasant. (Oxford Dictionaries)

Some collocations with horrid are horrid image, horrid person, horrid massacre, horrid noise, horrid dream, horrid sound, horrid act, horrid murder, horrid practice, horrid sight, horrid place, horrid scene, and horrid crime.

“The conditions in the prisons here are absolutely horrid.” (horrid = causing horror)

“Ourvacation was absolutely horrid. Everyone got sick and it rained every day.” (horrid = extremely unpleasant)

loathsome

We use loathsome to talk about things that cause hatred, disgust, or revulsion.

Some collocations withloathsome are loathsome person, loathsome sight, loathsome disease,loathsome creature, and loathsome spectacle.

“On TV he plays aloathsome character, but in real life he’s a kind, down-to-earth person.”

revolting

We use revolting to talk about things that cause extreme disgust.

Some collocations with revolting are revolting sight, revolting death, revolting description, revolting nature, revolting character, revolting cruelty, and revolting crime.

vile

We use vile to talk about things that are morally bad or wicked.

We also use vile to talk about things that are extremely unpleasant. (Oxford Dictionaries)

Some collocations with vile are vile creature, vile person, vile humor, vile jokes, and vile language.

“Don’t use that vile language here. It’s a family place.” (vile = morally bad or wicked)

“There is a vile smell coming from the basem*nt.” (vile = extremely unpleasant)

What vile language looks like. (Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay)

repulsive

We use repulsive to talk about things that cause disgust.

Some collocations with repulsive are repulsive habit, repulsive idea, repulsive thought,repulsive appearance, repulsive nature, to look repulsive, and to feel repulsive.

“It looks like he hasn’t cleaned in years. His apartment is repulsive.”

abominable

We use abominable to talk about things that cause moral revulsion.
We also use abominable to talk about things that are very bad/terrible. (Oxford Dictionaries)

Some collocations with abominable are abominable actions, abominable deeds, abominable plan, and abominable crime.

“These abominable crimes deserve to be punished.” (abominable = causing moral revulsion)

“What an abominable idea. Does anyone else have any suggestions?” (abominable = very bad/terrible)

Most native speakers know and use these words. If you want tosound more like a native speaker, you need to start using more descriptive adjectives. Very bad isn’t going to cut it.

For more better ways to say overused terms, see thesearticles on synonyms.

Bradford Jones

Hi, I'm Brad. I've spent the last seven years teaching English and creating websites for English learners and teachers. I recently moved from Costa Rica to Orlando, Florida, where I teach intensive English classes at a state college. If you'd like to contact me, I can be reached via email at [emailprotected].