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

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

Our parenting could affect his outcome, for better or for worse.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

These girls have changed remarkably, for better or for worse, in their time out there, especially because of their age.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2025

My mother on the one side, illiterate but determined to have me drink, for better or for worse, from the well of knowledge.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane