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# poorly

adverb (poorly); adjective (poorly — mainly UK, «feeling poorly»)

«poorly» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Poorly means badly, not well: «The team played poorly.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poorly/#m1)
2. In British and Irish English, «poorly» also means ill or unwell: «Grandad is poorly today.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poorly/#m2)
3. «Poorly paid» means getting too little money. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poorly/#m3)

### In the lessons

In school reports «poorly» describes weak work («answered poorly»). In everyday UK life children say they feel poorly when they are sick. Phrases: «feel poorly», «poorly paid», «poorly lit», «did poorly on the test».

### Examples

- The street was poorly lit, so we used a torch. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poorly/#x1)
- He did poorly on the spelling test because he didn't practise. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poorly/#x2)
- I'm feeling poorly, Mum, can I stay home? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poorly/#x3)
- The plants grew poorly in the dark cupboard. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poorly/#x4)
- Our team played poorly in the first half but won in the end. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poorly/#x5)
- The house was poorly built and the roof leaked. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poorly/#x6)

### Note

The adverb comes from «poor» + -ly. In the UK «poorly» as «ill» is friendly, informal and common with children; in the USA it is rare and people say «sick». «Poorly» does not mean «having little money» (that is «poor»).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «poorly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/poorly/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«poorly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/poorly.html) on Mova free.