Call me a pedant but...

[brightlywoven]

...Is it really OK to use the word 'poorly' as an adjective?

I might, with the soundest of grammar say
That house is poorly constructed.
Considered on an hourly basis I may be poorly paid, but in some of those hours, I get to sleep!

But can I really and truly say:

His stomach has been poorly.

Poorly what? Poorly ventilated? Poorly exposed? It's an adverb, dammit! Yet for the past few nights, I have heard seemingly well educated people say sentences very similar to the above.

So how is it that this little adverb has come to be so sorely misued?

Comments

[elleblue.livejournal.com]

Well, the guy did say "very poorly", rather than merely "poorly"..

To me, "poorly" in that sense is synonymous with "ill" or "unwell", whereas "sick" is several shades closer to "nauseous". Though I'd read "very sick" more like "very ill", so it's all a bit fuzzy.