somewhat ill or prone to illness
"my poor ailing grandmother"
"feeling a bit indisposed today"
"you look a little peaked"
"feeling poorly"
"a sickly child"
"is unwell and can't come to work"
ill, unwell, sick
"After catching the flu, he stayed in bed because he was feeling very poorly."
(`ill' is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well
"he was ill prepared"
"it ill befits a man to betray old friends"
"the car runs badly"
"he performed badly on the exam"
"the team played poorly"
"ill-fitting clothes"
"an ill-conceived plan"
In a poor manner or condition; without plenty, or sufficiency, or suitable provision for comfort.
"The family struggled to survive because they were poorly provided with food and warm clothing during the harsh winter."
In plain English: Poorly means not doing something very well or successfully.
"He fell ill after working poorly in the hot sun without enough water."
Usage: Use poorly to describe how an action is performed rather than the state of being in bad health. Do not use it as an adjective before nouns like "poorly educated," which requires ill-educated instead.
Poorly comes from Middle English by adding the suffix "-ly" to the word "poor." It originally meant in a poor condition or manner before evolving into its current use for describing low quality or performance.