for better or for worse

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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]

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

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Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

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Words nearby for better or for worse

forbear, forbearance, Forbes, Forbes disease, Forbes-Robertson, for better or for worse, forbid, forbiddance, forbidden, forbidden band, Forbidden City

How to use for better or for worse in a sentence

We need to recover and grow the idea that the proper answer to bad speech is more and better speech.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, we do typically do better than Europe (and Canada, too, which is frequently awful on this score).
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The cartoonist, better known as Charb, was shot dead Wednesday.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

He also wants to “replace every existing organism with a better one.”
Design Your Own Dinosaur: The Era of Custom DNA|Justin Jones|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Of course, considerations of weight have to be taken into account, but the more mould round the roots the better.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
"Better so," was the Senora's sole reply; and she fell again into still deeper, more perplexed thought about the hidden treasure.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Arches more graceful in form, or better fitted to defy the assaults of time, I have never seen.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
This is one of the most striking manifestations of the better side of child-nature and deserves a chapter to itself.
Children's Ways|James Sully
For it is better that thy children should ask of thee, than that thou look toward the hands of thy children.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various