for better or for worse

A form of for better or worse — No matter what the future may hold (no matter whether it is good or bad).

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adverbfor better or for worse (not comparable)
  1. alternativenot comparableAlternative form of for better or worse.

    This wouldn't have worked as well in, say, 1967. In that America, many white people called racists by this kind of person, for better or for worse, would have just taken a sip of their cocktail and said, “I don't think so at all.” Or even just “Fuck you!”

    2021, John H. McWhorter, chapter 1, in Woke Racism, New York: Forum, →ISBN
Cite this entry
APA

for better or for worse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20better%20or%20for%20worse

MLA

“for better or for worse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20better%20or%20for%20worse. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “for better or for worse,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20better%20or%20for%20worse.

Source: for better or for worse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.