bad ending
2
3.7
- noun
:
mal final
- This is all going to have a bad ending.
- come to a bad ending
Like there are some bad endings, like really bad endings.
- Like there are some bad endings, like really bad endings.
- Unfortunately, they had, they came to bad endings, violent endings, my godfather and my father.
Examples
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There are many stories with bad endings.
Blog text (29) -
I was afraid to read it for fear of a bad ending.
Blog text (27) -
I don't often want to throw really good books across the room because of a bad ending, but that one....
Blog text (8) -
Black Ops and CoD 4 had a pretty bad ending if you compare them like this.
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Many viewers were disappointed because the film had a bad ending that left too many questions unanswered.
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Despite its engaging plot, the novel concluded with a bad ending that frustrated many readers.
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The play started strong, but the audience left feeling unsatisfied due to its bad ending.
Synonyms
2
7.0
A disappointing end after a long build up of excitement
Antonyms
How Severe
- Archaic
2
3.7
3
9.9
148
3.6
- Informal
19
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an unsatisfactory or disappointing conclusion' is directly and compositionally derived from 'bad' (not acceptable) + 'ending' (conclusion). This adjective+noun combination follows a common, cross-linguistic pattern and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Bad ending may come from plays or books that finish badly: imagine the lights go down and the audience boos because the final scene fails. The picture of the bad last scene or ending helps explain why we use this phrase to mean 'unsatisfactory' or 'disappointing'.