bad
adj
(of poor quality)
[film, book] mauvais (e)
[actor, driver] mauvais (e)
→ He was a bad driver.
→ He's a bad actor.
[mother, father] mauvais (e)
→ He accused me of being a bad mother.
[idea, decision] mauvais (e)
→ I realised it was a really bad idea
[weather, health, conditions] mauvais (e)
→ The bad weather prevented the plane from landing.
→ Many old people are living in bad conditions.
→ He is in bad health.
a bad film un mauvais film
the bad weather le mauvais temps
The weather is really bad in winter. Il fait vraiment mauvais en hiver.
to be bad at sth être mauvais (e) en qch
→ I'm bad at languages.
I'm really bad at maths. Je suis vraiment mauvais en maths.
to be bad at doing sth ne pas savoir faire qch
→ Dad was really bad at getting to places on time.
→ I am bad at choosing clothes
→ We are very bad at thinking outside the confines of our own time and perspective.
→ I'm very bad at listening to what my body tells me.
not bad
[effort, painting, appearance] pas mal
That's not bad at all. Ce n'est pas mal du tout.
[food, drink] pas mauvais (e)
"What's the food like?" -- "Not bad." "Comment est la nourriture?" -- "Pas mauvaise."
The wine wasn't bad. Le vin n'était pas mauvais.
to go from bad to worse aller de mal en pis
→ This year my life has gone from bad to worse.
→ The situation is going from bad to worse.
(=wrong or unacceptable)
[person, behaviour] mauvais (e)
→ John was sent home for bad behaviour in class.
[child] vilain (e)
→ You are a bad boy for repeating what I told you.
[habit] mauvais (e)
→ He has the bad habit of interrupting people.
a bad man un homme mauvais
a bad person quelqu'un de mauvais
I was selling drugs, but I didn't think I was a bad person. Je vendais de la drogue mais je ne pensais pas être quelqu'un de mauvais.
you bad boy! vilain!
the bad boy of sth l'enfant terrible de qch
→ Marco Polo White joined forces with the bad boy of avant-garde art, Damien Hirst
bad language grossièretés fpl
→ a film with a lot of violence and bad language
to use bad language dire des grossièretés
to feel bad about sth
(=guilty) s'en vouloir de qch
→ I refused to accept her apology. I feel pretty bad about that
→ At the time I felt so bad about the situation between us
→ I feel really bad about the horrible things I said to you
I feel bad about it (guilty)
je m'en veux
(sad)
ça m'attriste, ça me rend triste
I feel bad about the redundancies. Ça m'attriste, tous ces licenciements., Ça me rend triste, tous ces licenciements.
to feel bad about doing sth
(=guilty) s'en vouloir d'avoir fait qch
→ It was a very stupid thing to do and I feel bad about getting sent off
I think she was feeling bad about being so bitchy to me yesterday. Je pense qu'elle s'en voulait d'avoir été aussi vache avec moi hier.
You don't have to feel bad about relaxing. Tu ne devrais pas avoir mauvaise conscience quand tu te détends.
to feel bad (that) ...
(=guilty)
I feel bad that I've upset him. Je m'en veux de l'avoir contrarié.
→ She felt bad that she didn't get the chance to speak to him before he died
→ Sam feels bad that he has let Zak down.
I feel bad she's in jail. Ça me donne mauvaise conscience qu'elle soit en prison.
to act in bad faith être de mauvaise foi
→ He believes the FAI acted in bad faith in its negotiations with them.
The Foreign Office had been negotiating in bad faith. Le ministère des affaires étrangères avait été de mauvaise foi dans ses négociations.
The allegations were made in bad faith, in the knowledge that they were untrue. Les déclarations avaient été faites de mauvaise foi; elles avaient été faites tout en sachant qu'elles étaient fausses.
(=unpleasant, negative)
[news] mauvais (e)
→ I'm afraid I have some bad news.
→ Oh, that's bad news!
[mood] mauvais (e)
[dream] mauvais (e)
[publicity, reputation] mauvais (e)
→ an actor who has had his share of bad publicity
→ Estate agents have a bad reputation
to have a bad temper avoir mauvais caractère
He has a very bad temper. Il a mauvais caractère.
to be in a bad temper être de mauvaise humeur
to be in a bad mood être de mauvaise humeur
→ She is in a bad mood because she has given up smoking.
to be having a bad time of it traverser une mauvaise passe
to have a bad day avoir une mauvaise journée
→ I've had a bad day at work.
to be in a bad way, to be in bad shape
[person, company, economy] être en piteux état
→ Trevor looked in a really bad way.
→ It's a nasty injury, Aaron is in a bad way.
→ The NHS is in a bad way.
→ The economy was in a bad way.
too bad! tant pis!
→ I haven't got enough money. - Too bad!
→ Too bad if you missed the bus.
never a bad word to say, He never has a bad word to say about anyone. Il n'est pas médisant.
He never has a bad word to say about you. Il ne dit jamais de mal de toi.
(=serious, severe)
[accident, injury] grave
→ He had a bad accident two years ago.
→ The floods were particularly bad this year.
[fracture] vilain (e)
[mistake] grave
a bad accident un accident grave
a bad headache, I've got a bad headache. J'ai très mal à la tête.
a bad pain, How bad is the pain? Tu as très mal?
The pain was so bad he could hardly stand. La douleur était telle qu'il pouvait à peine se tenir debout.
(=injured, painful)
to have a bad back avoir mal au dos
The bed was good for his bad back. Le lit était bon pour son mal de dos.
to have a bad leg avoir mal à la jambe
I've got a bad leg. J'ai mal à la jambe.
his bad leg sa jambe malade
to have a bad chest être fragile des poumons
to have a bad heart avoir le cœur fragile
(=injurious)
to be bad for you (for one's health)
être mauvais (e) pour la santé, nuire à la santé
Smoking is bad for you. Le tabac est mauvais pour la santé., Le tabac nuit à la santé.
to be bad for sth être mauvais pour qch
→ Overeating is bad for your health.
Sugar is bad for your teeth. Le sucre est mauvais pour les dents.
(=rotten)
[meat, food] gâté (e) → We picked out the bad strawberries. → Some of the food is already bad. to go bad
[meat, food] se gâter → They bought so much beef that some of it went bad.
[milk] tourner → This milk has gone bad.
bad apple
n
(=person) brebis f galeuse
→ It is hoped the inquiry will pick out the bad apples in the police force
→ when you've got a bad apple in the barrel, you've got to throw it out
→ They made it clear that they are not going to tolerate a bad apple in the United States Senate
bad blood
n animosité f
there is bad blood between them il y a de l'animosité entre eux
bad cheque , (British) bad check (US)
n chèque m en bois
to write a bad cheque faire un chèque en bois
→ She wrote another bad check.
bad debt
n créance f irrécouvrable
→ The bank set aside £1.1 billion to cover bad debts from business failures.
→ I wrote off six thousand dollars worth of bad debts.
bad dream
n cauchemar m
bad guy
n
*
(=baddy) (in film, story)
méchant m
→ I got offered quite a few bad guys in American movies
(in real life)
méchant m
→ We aim to put the bad guys in prison and take away their money.
bad hair day
n
* jour m sans
to be having a bad hair day être dans un jour sans
→ All this fuss is because Carol is having a bad hair day.
bad language
n grossièretés fpl
to use bad language dire des grossièretés
bad-mannered
adj mal élevé (e)
bad-mouth , badmouth
vt débiner
bad-tempered
adj
to be bad-tempered (by nature)
avoir mauvais caractère
He's a really bad-tempered person. Il a vraiment mauvais caractère.
(in a bad mood)
être de mauvaise humeur
He was really bad-tempered yesterday. Il était vraiment de mauvaise humeur hier.
to become bad-tempered devenir irritable
→ I became bad tempered and tearful with my boyfriend.
When his headaches developed Nick became bad-tempered. Quand il avait mal à la tête, Nick devenait irritable.