Phrase guide

not bad

adj · 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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1

adj

Meaning 1

Reasonably good; almost good; mediocre.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • Near-synonym: nonbad
  • What did you think of the guitarist? Not bad, but that solo could have been better.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: not half bad, OK, acceptable, adequate, all right, average, close enough, close enough for government work, close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades, decent, favoursome, fair, fine, jake, good enough, good enough for government work, hunky dory, kosher, mustn't grumble, nonbad, not bad, okay, okayish, passable, pretty good, tolerable, up to par, up to scratch, up to snuff, reasonable, respectable, satisfactory, snug, sufficient, suitable, tickety-boo

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

30 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: no està malament — reasonably good
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不錯 /不错 (bùcuò) — reasonably good
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不賴 /不赖 (bùlài) — reasonably good
  • Dutch: niet slecht — reasonably good
  • Finnish: ihan hyvä — reasonably good
  • Finnish: ei hassumpi — reasonably good
  • French: pas mal — reasonably good
  • German: nicht schlecht — reasonably good
  • German: nicht schlimm — reasonably good
  • Hungarian: nem rossz — reasonably good
  • Indonesian: lumayan — reasonably good
  • Italian: niente male — reasonably good
  • Italian: non male — reasonably good
  • Italian: non c'è male — reasonably good
  • Japanese: 悪くない (waruku nai) — reasonably good
  • Latin: nōn male — reasonably good
  • Lithuanian: neblogai — reasonably good
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ikke så verst — reasonably good
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ikkje so verst — reasonably good
  • Polish: niezgorszy — reasonably good
  • Polish: niezły — reasonably good
  • Portuguese: nada mau — reasonably good
  • Russian: ничего́ (ničevó) — reasonably good
  • Russian: неплохо́й (neploxój) — reasonably good
  • Russian: недурно́й (nedurnój) — reasonably good
  • Spanish: nada mal — reasonably good
  • Swedish: inte illa — reasonably good
  • Swedish: inte fy skam — reasonably good
  • Thai: ไม่เลว (mâi-leeo) — reasonably good
  • Turkish: fena değil — reasonably good