Word.ws English Dictionary

worst of both worlds

worst of both worlds noun: a solution or scenario which combines the disadvantages of two opposed prior solutions, often having been intended to combine their benefits instead.

Noun

worst of both worlds (uncountable)

  1. (idiomatic, singular, singular-only) A solution or scenario which combines the disadvantages of two opposed prior solutions, often having been intended to combine their benefits instead.
    • The Worst of Both Worlds: Violating Rights without Gaining Security2004: Paul H. Douglas Ethics in Government Program, The Challenge of Terrorism: Protecting Citizens, Preserving Values, essay 1: Nadine Strossen, “The Worst of Both Worlds: Violating Rights without...

Antonyms of worst of both worlds

Origin of worst of both worlds

Antonym of best of both worlds.

Questions about worst of both worlds

What does worst of both worlds mean?
Worst of both worlds means a solution or scenario which combines the disadvantages of two opposed prior solutions, often having been intended to combine their benefits instead.
What part of speech is worst of both worlds?
Worst of both worlds is a noun.

Words near worst of both worlds in the dictionary

  1. worst comes to worst
  2. worst enemies
  3. worst enemy
  4. worst for wear
  5. Worst Korea
  6. worst of both worlds
  7. worst off
  8. worst timeline
  9. worst-case
  10. worst-case scenario
  11. worst-case scenarios

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: worst of both worlds (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-worst of both worlds.ogg.

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