| 100% | TAINT | 5 | Traces of something bad and harmful |
| 45% | ERASE | 5 | Remove all traces of something |
| 45% | OMEN | 4 | Sign of something bad to happen |
| 43% | ERASE | 5 | To remove writing, marking or traces of something |
| 41% | GRASP | 5 | Take hold of something and grip firmly |
| 41% | EFFECT | 6 | A result of something else; cause and __ |
| 39% | ACQUIRE | 7 | Get hold of something and make it your own |
| 39% | LANA | 4 | Turner of "The Bad and the Beautiful" |
| 38% | ROXANEGAY | 9 | Author of Bad Feminist and Hunger |
| 38% | INK | 3 | Something Travis Barker and Mike Ness have lots of |
| 37% | MTG | 3 | Something your PA should schedule and remind you of (abbr.) |
| 37% | ROXANEGAY | 9 | Professor and writer of Bad Feminist and Hunger |
| 37% | SHEERAN | 7 | Ed, British singer of Bad Habits and Perfect |
| 36% | ROEG | 4 | Nicolas —, director of films Two Deaths and Bad Timing |
| 36% | BEATUP | 6 | Like something with plenty of wear and tear: Hyph. |
| 36% | UGLY | 4 | "The Good, The Bad and The ___," one of the greatest Westerns of all time |
| 35% | FRESHAIR | 8 | Something new and different might be described as a breath of it |
| 35% | FAULKS | 6 | Sebastian —, author of On Green Dolphin Street and Human Traces |
| 35% | OPENACANOFWORMS | 15 | Attempt to fix something and inadvertently make the situation worse |
| 35% | ANGST | 5 | A feeling of insecurity and anxiety, something most teenagers feel |
| 35% | HERS | 4 | "... and yet there's something in that voice of ___ ..." (The Great Gatsby) |
| 35% | ROEG | 4 | Nicolas —, director of films Two Deaths, Bad Timing and Track 29 |
| 35% | BAY | 3 | Michael —, director of the films Bad Boys, Armageddon and Pearl Harbor |
| 35% | HEIST | 5 | Type of operation in “Ocean’s 8” and “The Bad Guys” |
| 35% | ART | 3 | "Making something out of nothing and selling it," per Frank Zappa |
| 35% | HIDE | 4 | Keep out of sight ... and something you'd do to 5d |
| 34% | BETSY | 5 | Actress Brandt of "Breaking Bad" and "Life in Pieces" |
| 34% | NOTASTE | 7 | Characteristic of bland food and bad dressers |
| 34% | MILA | 4 | First name in the credits of Four Good Days and Bad Moms |
| 34% | ROEG | 4 | Nicolas —, director of the films Two Deaths, Bad Timing and Track 29 |