If Worse Or If Worst Comes To Worst? The words worst candy bars of all time and worst are extremely useful. They are the main and often best way we can indicate that something is, well, more bad or most bad. But because they look and sound so similar, it can be easy to mix them up, especially in certain expressions.
Worse and worst are different words, but both are forms of the adjective bad. Worse is the comparative form and worst is the superlative form. A comparative adjective is typically used to compare two things. For example, My brother is bad at basketball, but honestly I’m worse. Worse and worst are just like the words better and best, which are the comparative and superlative forms of the word good. Worse and worst don’t follow these rules, but you can see a remnant of the superlative ending -est at the end of worst and best, which can help you remember that they are superlatives. To learn a lot more about comparative and superlative adjectives, check out our amazing guide right here!
Worse is used in the expression from bad to worse, which means that something started bad and has only deteriorated in quality or condition, as in My handwriting has gone from bad to worse since I graduated high school. Let’s look at some other common questions people have about expressions that use worse or worst. Is it worse case or worst case? The phrase worst case is used in the two idiomatic expressions: in the worst case and worst-case scenario.
Both of these phrases refer to a situation that is as bad as possible compared to any other possible situation, which is why it uses the superlative form worst. In the worst case, the beams will collapse instantly. This isn’t what we expect to happen—it’s just the worst-case scenario. Get grammar tips, writing tricks, and more from Thesaurus. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Is it if worse comes to worst or if worst comes to worst? Whatever form is used, the expression is usually accompanied by a proposed solution to the problem.
If worse comes to worst and every door is locked, we’ll get in by opening a window. I’m going to try to make it to the store before the storm starts, but if worst comes to worst, I’ll at least have my umbrella with me. Let’s wrap things up by looking at some of the many different ways we can use worse and worst in a sentence. I think the pink paint looks worse on the wall than the red paint did. Out of all of us, Tom had the worst case of poison ivy.
Debra Deer had a worse finishing time than Charlie Cheetah, but Sam Sloth had the worst time by far. My grades went from bad to worse after I missed a few classes. If worst comes to worst and we miss the bus, we’ll just hail a cab. It’s possible that the losses could lead to bankruptcy, but the company is doing everything it can to avoid this worst-case scenario.
How do you feel about the difference between worst and worse now that you’ve reviewed them? If you can distinguish between the comparative and superlative forms of bad, take this quiz to see how much you’ve learned. Do you know the difference between “lay” and “lie”? To save this word, you’ll need to log in. Subscribe to America’s largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Get Word of the Day daily email! Which of these items is named for a deadly weapon?