expect/fear the worst

idiom

: to assume that something very bad will happen

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

So when Marvel began teasing a major character death in the upcoming issue Amazing Spider-Man #26, comic fans knew to expect the worst. —Christian Holub, EW.com, 16 May 2023

Citizens have become accustomed to expect the worst because of scandal after scandal. —George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2023

Given the influx of money and agents over the next decade, expect the worst. —Jay Starkman, WSJ, 7 Mar. 2023

First-time players are made to expect the worst: maybe Joel has died. —Joshua St. Clair, Men's Health, 19 Feb. 2023

But we’re so conditioned to expect the worst that a sense of unease remains present. —Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Feb. 2023

These associations become the seeds for implicitly biased thinking: without bad intentions, people start to expect the worst for individuals from minority backgrounds. —Ayelet Fishbach, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2022

But Buffett’s disclosures last week are leading some analysts to expect the worst. —Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2022

Well, Roy delivered that speech in as many arrogant words, essentially telling the Red Wings to bring their best or expect the worst. —Gene Myers, Detroit Free Press, 21 May 2022

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