Home › Words › B › badnessbadness/ˈbæd.nəs/badness means the quality or degree of being bad.badness is pronounced /ˈbæd.nəs/.EtymologyFrom Middle English baddenes, badnes, badnesse; equivalent to bad + -ness.nounThe quality or degree of being bad.Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.baddishness 81% match — The state or quality of being baddish. vs badness →badassness 73% match — The quality or state of being badass. vs badness →nongoodness 70% match — The quality of not being good. vs badness →evilness 68% match — The quality or state of being evil. vs badness →wackness 68% match — Badness; contemptibility vs badness →badsome 67% match — Markedly bad; characteristically bad vs badness →bassness 65% match — The quality of being bass. vs badness →bajanness 65% match — The quality or state of being Bajan. vs badness →