How to Use at worst in a Sentence

at worst

phrase
  • Because the midsummer sun will give you one heck of a shorts tan line at best, a scorcher of a burn at worst.
    — Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
  • Thurnher knew that a new owner meant a new relationship at best and, at worst, the end of her dance party.
    — Su-Jit Lin, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2026
  • But the ventures were met with, at best, mixed reviews and, at worst, outright hostility.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Afghanistan’s women are today treated like property at best, and criminals at worst.
    — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2026
  • This ongoing divide is a recipe for frustration at best and unthinkable defeat at worst.
    — Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 16 July 2026
  • Conventional rules are at best just that, conventional; at worst, bad advice.
    — Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • The cost of attending has become eye-watering at best, prohibitive at worst.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Players, coaches, and analysts all agreed that the red card was harsh at best, and inaccurately given at worst.
    — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026
  • To think that risk disappears when hiring an expert is, at best, naïve and, at worst, strategically negligent.
    — Vicente Pava, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • That immediately signaled some future starting competition at best and a swing tackle option at worst.
    — Jon MacHota, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • If a claim is substantiated, the plagiarist is seen as sloppy or lazy at best, and fundamentally dishonest at worst.
    — Roger J. Kreuz, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Five-time World Cup winners Brazil have the attackers for it, but their midfield and defence were at best meandering, at worst anaemic.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 11 July 2026
  • Historically, Western norms during the 19th and 20th centuries held that to not eat meat is odd at best, and suspicious at worst.
    — David Rooney, The Conversation, 10 July 2026
  • But there is a saying in the military that leadership sets the tone, and when the most senior leaders are flippant at best, and cruel at worst, many will understand that to be the permissible standard.
    — Andrea N. Goldstein, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
  • But this narrative of the USMNT winning formula is, at worst, wrong and at best, incomplete.
    — Michael Morris, Time, 1 July 2026
  • The overwhelming majority of players attempted to drive the green, and at worst, left themselves a chip shot of less than 20 or so yards, giving them a great opportunity at birdie, or maybe even an eagle.
    — Mark Harris Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Responsible or not, Polly’s behavior is therefore at best cavalier, and at worst, especially during his police room interviews, downright cocky.
    — Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 22 July 2026
  • Chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, resulting in diarrhea, rectal bleeding, and abdominal pain, among other symptoms, is debilitating at worst and embarrassing at best.
    — Katie Jackson, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2024
  • Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images via Reuters Connect NEW YORK — Tuesday night made the New York Yankees’ decision not to add at least one high-leverage reliever at the trade deadline look questionable at best, and befuddling at worst.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

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

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