for better or for worse

Idioms  

1. Under good or bad circumstances, with good or bad effect. For example, For better or for worse he trusts everyone. This term became widely familiar because it appears in the marriage service of the Book of Common Prayer (1549): “With this ring I thee wed, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or worse, til death do us part.” [Late 1300s]

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Example Sentences

To do this, he initially establishes Niall and Ruben's bond as "unbreakable, unshakable, for better or for worse".

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

Meanwhile, the “market is looking through” the present administration’s policies for better or for worse, said Tracy Nolte, a portfolio manager at Advisors Asset Management.

From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026

Older Americans are, for better or for worse, working more hours, on average, than in previous decades, Pew researchers found.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 13, 2026

His on-air critique comes amid broader unease about the transformation underway at CBS News and how Weiss’s leadership might reshape a storied journalism institution for better or for worse.

From Salon • Oct. 13, 2025

It’s the one thing about her parents’ lives she truly admires—their ability, for better or for worse, to turn their back on their homes.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri