superlative of bad
or of ill
1
: most corrupt, bad, evil, or ill
his worst fault
2
a
: most unfavorable, difficult, unpleasant, or painful
the worst news
your worst enemy
b
: most unsuitable, faulty, unattractive, or ill-conceived
has the worst table manners
c
: least skillful or efficient
the worst person for the job
3
: most wanting in quality, value, or condition
the worst results
superlative of ill
or illy
or of bad
or badly
1
: to the extreme degree of badness or inferiority
the worst dressed person
2
: to the greatest or highest degree
groups who need the subsidies worst lose out—
T. W. Arnold
T. W. Arnold
Phrases
the worst way
: very much
such men … need indoctrination the worst way—J. G. Cozzens
—often used with inJ. G. Cozzenswanted a new bicycle in the worst way
: under the worst circumstances
Synonyms
Examples of worst in a Sentence
Adjective
This is the worst car I've ever bought.
In my opinion, it's her worst book.
It was the worst movie I've ever seen.
His worst quality is his impatience.
This has got to be the worst day of my life.
The worst part of working there is the long commute.
My worst fears came true.
He lives in the worst area of the city.
He is the worst singer I've ever heard.
They're the worst team ever.
Adverb
My sister was hurt worst.
the areas worst hit by the drought
She was voted the worst-dressed celebrity of 2005.
Noun
What's the worst that can happen?
When it comes to dancing, he is the worst.
That movie was the worst!
He is the worst of the bunch.
He is one of the worst in the class.
Even in the worst of times, she was hopeful.
It's still raining, but the worst of the storm is over now.
The worst of it is, I don't even know how to contact her.
The company was operating on high costs and low prices—the worst of both worlds.
Verb
how humiliating for a tennis champ to be worsted by a player no one had ever heard of
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Recent Examples on the WebC.j. Holmes, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Feb. 2023
Continue below to see the top 10 best and worst cities for football fans in 2023.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 8 Feb. 2023
See the look here: Rodrigo refuses to let the best and the worst of ’00s trends live in the past.
—Carrie Wittmer, Glamour, 6 Feb. 2023
What happened next amounted to the worst time in Nolan’s 42-year career at DCAD, including the past 18 years as chief appraiser.
—Dallas News, 3 Feb. 2023
And every generation thinks of itself in the superlative: the best, the worst, the most stressed, the most burdened, the most liberated, the most enlightened.
—H.w. Brands, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2023
No wonder: the holidays are perhaps the worst time of the year to strand customers.
—Chris Isidore, CNN, 1 Feb. 2023
Balloons are a key business driver for Party City, and this cut into sales at the worst time.
—Q.ai - Powering A Personal Wealth Movement, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2023
Notably, that came at perhaps the worst possible time — the two years leading up to the coronavirus pandemic.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 13 Jan. 2023
Alexandra Wexler, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023
Or David Yates, a director best known for directing the solid back half of the Harry Potter series and, er, worst known for also directing the franchise’s Fantastic Beasts prequels that followed.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2023
Swatting can be at best humiliating and at worst lethal.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 20 Oct. 2023
The country has since experienced myriad crises in recent years, including the August 2020 Beirut port explosion and an ongoing economic meltdown that the World Bank has said may be among the top three worst globally since the 19th century.
—Armani Syed, TIME, 19 Oct. 2023
The city’s stock market, which is seen as a proxy for China’s economy, is among the world’s worst performing this year.
—Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023
The northeastern port city was the worst affected and has been declared a disaster zone.
—Ayat Al-Tawy, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2023
The nearby port city of Derna was the worst affected following the collapse of two dams, which wiped out a quarter of the area.
—Morgan Winsor, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2023
Cars scored worst for privacy among more than a dozen product categories — including fitness trackers, reproductive-health apps, smart speakers and other connected home appliances — that Mozilla has studied since 2017.
—Frank Bajak, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2023
David E. Sanger, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2023
Start with Correa, whose .299 OBP, .700 OPS and 92 adjusted OPS would all be career worsts.
—Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 13 July 2023
Amid the myriad issues in 2022: Russell Wilson and Co. couldn't stay on schedule, setting league worsts with a 29.1% third-down conversion rate, 63 sacks allowed and just 16.9 points per game.
—Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 21 June 2023
Wilson posted career worsts in completion percentage (60.5), touchdowns (16) and quarterback rating (84.4) in 2022.
—Richard Morin, USA TODAY, 24 Feb. 2023
If this is Warhol at his provocative worst, at least the exhibition for the most part reveals Warhol at his colorful and kitschy best.
—John J. Miller, National Review, 19 Dec. 2019
The team’s hope was to create more takeaways after finishing with NFL worsts of two interceptions and seven forced turnovers in 2018.
—Si Wire, SI.com, 15 Sep. 2019
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Adjective
But all of that would’ve been forgiven if Golden State’s offense didn’t cool down at the worst possible time.
—C.j. Holmes, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Feb. 2023
Continue below to see the top 10 best and worst cities for football fans in 2023.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 8 Feb. 2023
See the look here: Rodrigo refuses to let the best and the worst of ’00s trends live in the past.
—Carrie Wittmer, Glamour, 6 Feb. 2023
What happened next amounted to the worst time in Nolan’s 42-year career at DCAD, including the past 18 years as chief appraiser.
—Dallas News, 3 Feb. 2023
And every generation thinks of itself in the superlative: the best, the worst, the most stressed, the most burdened, the most liberated, the most enlightened.
—H.w. Brands, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2023
No wonder: the holidays are perhaps the worst time of the year to strand customers.
—Chris Isidore, CNN, 1 Feb. 2023
Balloons are a key business driver for Party City, and this cut into sales at the worst time.
—Q.ai - Powering A Personal Wealth Movement, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2023
Notably, that came at perhaps the worst possible time — the two years leading up to the coronavirus pandemic.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 13 Jan. 2023
Adverb
Osnat Peri, the head of Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the worst affected during Hamas's attacks on Oct. 7, said the kibbutz wouldn’t send a representative to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, joining Kibbutz Be’eri, also hard hit, in boycotting the meeting.
—Alexandra Wexler, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023
Or David Yates, a director best known for directing the solid back half of the Harry Potter series and, er, worst known for also directing the franchise’s Fantastic Beasts prequels that followed.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2023
Swatting can be at best humiliating and at worst lethal.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 20 Oct. 2023
The country has since experienced myriad crises in recent years, including the August 2020 Beirut port explosion and an ongoing economic meltdown that the World Bank has said may be among the top three worst globally since the 19th century.
—Armani Syed, TIME, 19 Oct. 2023
The city’s stock market, which is seen as a proxy for China’s economy, is among the world’s worst performing this year.
—Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023
The northeastern port city was the worst affected and has been declared a disaster zone.
—Ayat Al-Tawy, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2023
The nearby port city of Derna was the worst affected following the collapse of two dams, which wiped out a quarter of the area.
—Morgan Winsor, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2023
Cars scored worst for privacy among more than a dozen product categories — including fitness trackers, reproductive-health apps, smart speakers and other connected home appliances — that Mozilla has studied since 2017.
—Frank Bajak, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2023
Noun
To his critics, this was Mr. Kissinger at his Cold War worst, weaving an argument that a nuclear exchange could be won.
—David E. Sanger, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2023
Start with Correa, whose .299 OBP, .700 OPS and 92 adjusted OPS would all be career worsts.
—Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 13 July 2023
Amid the myriad issues in 2022: Russell Wilson and Co. couldn't stay on schedule, setting league worsts with a 29.1% third-down conversion rate, 63 sacks allowed and just 16.9 points per game.
—Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 21 June 2023
Wilson posted career worsts in completion percentage (60.5), touchdowns (16) and quarterback rating (84.4) in 2022.
—Richard Morin, USA TODAY, 24 Feb. 2023
If this is Warhol at his provocative worst, at least the exhibition for the most part reveals Warhol at his colorful and kitschy best.
—John J. Miller, National Review, 19 Dec. 2019
The team’s hope was to create more takeaways after finishing with NFL worsts of two interceptions and seven forced turnovers in 2018.
—Si Wire, SI.com, 15 Sep. 2019
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'worst.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English werste, worste, from Old English wierresta, wyrsta, superlative of the root of Old English wiersa worse
First Known Use
Adjective
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adverb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1636, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of worst was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing worst
Articles Related to worst
Dictionary Entries Near worst
Cite this Entry
“Worst.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worst. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
worst
1 of 4 adjectivesuperlative of bad
or of ill
1
: most bad, evil, or ill
his worst habit
2
a
: most unfavorable, unpleasant, or painful
the worst problem imaginable
b
: most unsuitable, faulty, unattractive, or ill-conceived
has the worst manners
c
: least skillful or efficient
the worst plumber you can hire
3
: most wanting in quality, value, or condition
farmed the worst land
worst
3 of 4 noun1
: one that is worst
always chooses the worst
2
: the greatest degree of ill or badness
if worse comes to worst
worst
4 of 4 verb
: to get the better of : defeat
worsted his opponents
Medical Definition
worst
superlative of ill
More from Merriam-Webster on worst
Nglish: Translation of worst for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of worst for Arabic Speakers
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