least-worst

British

adjective

informal bad but better than any available alternative

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This left some voters feeling like they had to pick whichever they say was the "least-worst" option.

From BBC

And he told the inquiry: "It's the least-worst decision that could have been taken at the time."

From BBC

Scott Lyons, Norfolk Branch secretary of the National Education Union, said while not ideal, the plan may be the least-worst option.

From BBC

"We'd never want to do that, but what we're looking at is the least-worst option for them."

From BBC

In 1975, Harper’s Magazine ranked Seattle the “least-worst city” in the country.

From Seattle Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023