worst-case

American  

[wurst-keys] / ˈwɜrstˌkeɪs /

adjective

1. of the worst possibility; being the worst result that could be expected under the circumstances.

   a worst-case scenario.

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worst case British  

noun

1. 1. a situation in which the most unfavourable conditions prevail

   2. ( as modifier )

      a worst-case projection of a massive accident

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Etymology

Origin of worst-case

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

In a worst-case scenario, Telekom may need to keep its current 5G access arrangement with Digital Nasional until 2027, which would mean forfeiting MYR127 million in unused prepaid capacity, he says.

From The Wall Street Journal

Energy Secretary Chris Wight said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “We’re not too long, I think, before you will see more regular resumption of ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that in a “worst-case” scenario, the resumption of normal tanker traffic would take “a few weeks… not months.”

From MarketWatch

Energy Secretary Chris Wight said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “We’re not too long, I think, before you will see more regular resumption of ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that in a “worst-case” scenario, the resumption of normal tanker traffic would take “a few weeks… not months.”

From MarketWatch

“To me, it was not just the worst-case scenario. It was an unthinkable scenario.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“Stagflation is always the worst-case scenario for the central bank, because there’s not an obvious monetary-policy answer,” Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• absolute
• all-out
• sheer
• ultimate
• unconditional