Phrase guide

bad news travels fast

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

proverb

Meaning 1

Bad news circulates quickly because people often circulate it everywhere.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ill news spreads apace

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: الأخبار السيئة تنتشر بسرعة — Translations
  • Chinese Mandarin: 壞事傳千里 /坏事传千里 — Translations
  • Finnish: huonot uutiset kiirivät nopeasti — Translations
  • German: schlechte Nachrichten verbreiten sich schnell — Translations
  • Japanese: 悪事千里を走る (akuji senri o hashiru) — Translations
  • Korean: 발 없는 말이 천 리 간다 (bal eomneun mar-i cheon ri ganda) — Translations
  • Polish: złe wieści szybko się rozchodzą — Translations
  • Portuguese: as más notícias viajam depressam — Translations
  • Vietnamese: tiếng dữ đồn xa — Translations