From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe in a bad waybe in a bad wayinformalSERIOUS SITUATION to be very ill, unhappy, or injured, or not in a good condition She was in a bad way after the funeral. → bad
Examples from the Corpus
be in a bad way• You'd better get an ambulance - she's in a pretty bad way.• Sometimes aircraft returning across the Channel are in a bad way.• She was in a bad way and I hated doing it, but I had to.• The solo climber was in a bad way, and they invited him to rope up with them.• I was in a bad way at that time, I felt really depressed, so I went round causing criminal damage.• Martin came back from Africa with malaria, and he was in a pretty bad way for months.• Effie here is in a bad way for several reasons.• Duncan saw that he was in a bad way, his face grey and wan.• He could see that Longhi, the lowest on the rope, was in a bad way; his hands kept slipping.• Some are in a bad way so we share what we have. 