would sooner

idiom

used to indicate what someone wants or prefers to do, have, etc.
He would sooner lose everything than admit that he was wrong.

Examples of would sooner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web John Elway would sooner crowd surf with the yokels in Oakland’s Black Hole than tank a season. Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 1 Sep. 2024 Or are lofty ideals simply not enough to overcome biological coding so wary of strangers that our bodies would sooner die than accept foreign tissue? David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 28 June 2024 Joe Biden would sooner sprout tentacles than commit to a culmination in Ukraine that includes reclaiming Crimea. Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., WSJ, 15 Dec. 2023 Others would sooner sleep with a stranger than hold their hand in public, and both were welcome to share. Keyaira Boone, Essence, 7 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'would sooner.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near would sooner

Cite this Entry

“Would sooner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/would%20sooner. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.

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