Revised as of
22 Oct 2022
Man, it goes from bad to worse and then even worse before it turns into the worst. Kinda like that there post “Better versus Best“.
For some reason I’m coming up against confused uses of worse and worst, and I’m laughing at the story. This is not a good sign. And it can only get worse, IMO.
The worst of it is that a good editor would catch this. What’s even worse, though, is that too many writers have helpful friends or family members who think they’re all that when it comes to proofreading. No. I do remember one story submitted to me for a review that I simply couldn’t talk about. To the public. But they had a neighbor who was an English teacher . . . Now that’s the worst. When an English teacher is that incompetent with the English language.
After that whine, what I really want to say is that bad vs worse vs worst is primarily a series of comparisons with bad being not so good, worse being pretty bad, and worst being the baddest of all.
Exploring Later . . .
You may also want to explore “Bad versus Badly” and “Better versus Best“.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
If you found this post on “Bad vs Worse vs Worst” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Bad | Worse | Worst |
|---|---|---|
Moldy Strawberries by Jo Naylor is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via VisualHunt. — Ewww, that’s bad. |
A macro of Moldy Strawberries, 12 June 2011, by stevendepolo is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via VisualHunt. — EWWWWWW, that’s worse! |
A macro of Moldy Strawberries, 5 May 2011, by stevendepolo is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via VisualHunt. — Egads, this is the worst!! |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Adjective; Adverb | Adjective; Adverb; Noun
Plural for noun: worse |
Adjective; Adverb; Noun; Pronoun; Verb, transitive
Plural for the noun: worsts Third person present verb: worsts |
| Adjective: Of poor quality, inferior, defective, or a low standard
Not such as to be hoped for or desired
Unfavorable
Failing to conform to standards of moral virtue or acceptable conduct
Food decayed, putrid
Part of the body being injured, diseased, causing pain
[As complement] Regretful, guilty, ashamed about something Worthless, not valid [Informal] Good, excellent Adverb: |
Adjective: Comparative of bad, ill Of poorer quality or a lower standard
Adverb: Less well or skillfully In a more evil, wicked, severe, or disadvantageous manner
With more severity, intensity, etc.
Noun:
|
Adjective: Superlative of bad, badly, and ill Of the poorest quality or the lowest standard
Most lacking in skill
Adverb: Most severely or seriously In the most evil, wicked, severe, or disadvantageous manner With the most severity, intensity, etc.
Noun: Pronoun: Verb, transitive:
|
| Examples: | ||
| Adjective: It’s a bad day to die. That cake is really bad. I’m so bad at names. He is such a bad listener. It was a bad time to ask Andy about anything. Joe got a bad review at work. I’ve got a bad knee. I don’t feel so good. In fact, I feel pretty bad. Don’t go all bad-ass on me! He’s a bad writer. Oh, baby, you are lookin’ so bad. They’re predicting bad weather. Soap is bad for his face. That was some bad crash. You made a bad mistake, but it can be fixed. Watch out! They’re the bad guys! I have never seen such bad behavior, young lady. George likes her, but that bad language she’s always spouting turns him off. Everything in the fridge went bad. We can’t go to lunch or all the perishables in the trunk will go bad. Don’t go down the mine! There’s some bad air in there. She feels bad about ending their engagement. I feel bad that our business is benefiting from something so horrible. Adverb: That story I read last night was real bad; I can’t believe how badly it was written. Paul gets these really bad headaches. |
Adjective: I tried medication but felt even worse the next morning. The accommodations were awful, and the food was worse. The movement made the pain worse. It is worse to intend harm than to be indifferent. He felt worse and groped his way back to bed. The child might be born blind or worse. Well, he can’t be any worse off. Adverb: The others had been drunk too, worse than herself. Noun: The weather changed for the worse. We were none the worse for our terrible experience. If his subjects were unwilling to accept the progress he offered, so much the worse for them. |
Adjective: We had the worst luck. That speech was the worst he has ever made. At least 32 people died in Australia’s worst bus accident. She was the worst person to put on cooking detail. Oh, lord, it was the worst paper submitted. Hey, if that’s the worst house on the block, I’m moving in. That woman has the worst personality I’ve ever known. Get her out of the typing pool. She’s the worst typist I’ve ever seen. Adverb: He was voted the worst dressed celebrity. He was the worst-loved puppy. She suffered worst of all. They all sing badly, but he sings the worst of all. Noun: There are signs that the recession is past its worst. At the worst, he’ll be kicked out of school. She wanted to go out with the football captain in the worst way. At worst, the storm will make us postpone the trip. Pronoun: His behavior is at its worst when he’s with strangers. Verb, transitive: He worsted him easily. The team was worsted in their argument. |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Adjective: bad-tempered, badass, baddish Adverb: badly Noun: badass, badassery, baddie, baddies, baddy, badlands, badmash, badness Verb, transitive: bad-mouth |
Verb: worsen | Adjective: worst-case |
| History of the Word: | ||
| Middle English, perhaps representing Old English bǣddel meaning hermaphrodite, womanish man. | Old English wyrsa, wiersa (adjective), wiers adverb), are of Germanic origin and related to war. | Old English wierresta, wyrresta (adjective), wierst, wyrst (adverb) are of Germanic origin and related to worse. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Bad vs Worse vs Worst
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: worst
The Free Dictionary: worst
Pinterest Photo Credits:
The actual order of Figure 1 Wounds 0815 Reyzelman by Alexander M. Reyzelman, DPM, and Mher Vartivarian, DPM, which is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons, is in reverse of what you see, because it better suited what I wanted to emphasize about the differences between bad, worse, and worst. I must confess that the original order actually did seem to showcase bad to worst, but since it factually didn’t, I swapped A with C. Yeah, aren’t you glad you’re not this person?
