What is the Latin word for poorly?

The usual Latin words for “poorly” are tenuis, exīlis, parcō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“poorly” in Latin

tenuisthin, slender, slim, lank; especially; fine, rare, thin; pure, clear, not coarse; weak, feeble, tenuous exīlissmall, thin, slender; lank, meagre, feeble, inadequate; of the sound l, palatalized parcōto spare, save up, economise; to forgive someone, have mercy for, to be lenient to; to let alone, omit

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

poorly adv.

tenuiter (Ter., Phorm., 1, 2, 95); exiliter: to live poorly, parce or misere vivere (very poorly); tenuissimo cultu vivere.

poorly adj.

(Slightly indisposed)(Slightly indisposed), qui leviter aegrotat; levi motiuncula tentatus: to be poorly, leviter aegrotare; levi motiuncula tentari (Suet., Vesp. 24); leviter commotum esse (Cic.); leviter aegrum esse.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for poorly?: The usual Latin words for “poorly” are tenuis, exīlis, parcō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.