How to Use (the) worse for wear in a Sentence

(the) worse for wear

idiom
  • In many of these cases, the caves have emerged the worse for wear.
    Maya Wei-Haas, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2024
  • The workforce is a bit worse for wear, and that’s your starting point.
    Clarissa Windham-Bradstock, Forbes, 17 June 2022
  • Go ahead and squish up the Wallaroo Scrunchie; it won't be left any worse for wear.
    Rena Behar, Travel + Leisure, 26 May 2023
  • If your oven mitts look worse for wear, replace them with one of our favorites.
    Moriah Mason, Southern Living, 8 Jan. 2024
  • Either way, Twitter is likely to emerge the worse for wear.
    Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 14 July 2022
  • Either way, Twitter is likely to emerge the worse for wear.
    Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 14 July 2022
  • Dylan Hopkins is no worse for wear since taking the field this fall.
    Evan Dudley, al, 2 Aug. 2022
  • The day after his scary collision, Suter was no worse for wear.
    Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2022
  • This bag took a licking and kept on ticking without being any worse for wear.
    Aly Walansky, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2023
  • Those intended for outdoor use are more heavy-duty and can stay outside day and night and be none the worse for wear.
    Sarah Wolf Halverson, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Sep. 2023
  • He got rid of his motor oil without having to pay the city to dispose of it, and our laurel hedge never seemed the worse for wear.
    Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Oct. 2022
  • Even after logging quite a few miles in these, the rubber outsole didn’t appear any worse for wear.
    Caroline Lubinsky, Men's Health, 16 Aug. 2023
  • After a few days of product, sweat, and grime, your hair is going to start looking and feeling a little worse for wear.
    Katie Becker, Allure, 14 Oct. 2022
  • Instead, air drying them or running them through a no-heat dryer cycle will leave them clean, crisp, and no worse for wear.
    Abby Wilson, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 May 2024
  • Despite a handful of collisions in the box leaving Bixby worse for wear, the Thorns locked down for the remainder of the match and held on to a 2-0 advantage.
    oregonlive, 17 Sep. 2023
  • If his wallet is looking a little worse for wear, perhaps a new one is a practical gift.
    Amanda Ogle, Southern Living, 28 Nov. 2023
  • While Alaska and United will regain some capacity in the weeks ahead, their bottom line may still be a bit worse for wear.
    Tori Latham, Robb Report, 25 Jan. 2024
  • He is returned to his wife and kids less than a week later, only slightly worse for wear, and the family begins the hard work of moving on with their lives.
    Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 21 June 2024
  • Between holiday guests, dirt, and snow, your floors are likely looking a little worse for wear.
    Carly Totten, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Dec. 2022
  • Unfortunately, the patient was a bit worse for wear at its latest checkup with the doctor.
    Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 25 May 2023
  • And after checking its legs and wings for any apparent injury, rescuers were fairly confident the bird was none the worse for wear.
    Allison Moses, USA TODAY, 8 June 2022
  • Doubling-back to that marathon metaphor, Stuckmann finishes his race only somewhat worse for wear.
    Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 21 July 2024
  • Matthew Trehern went down for an extended period of time at Rice but is one of the toughest players on the team and is no worse for wear heading into the weekend.
    Evan Dudley, al, 7 Oct. 2022
  • Most rental kitchens also have only the (very) bare essentials in terms of equipment and appliances, often looking a bit worse for wear.
    Anna Luisa Rodriguez, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2023
  • The Vatican, meanwhile, emerges worse for wear, with new questions raised about the effectiveness and fairness of its legal system.
    Stefano Pitrelli, Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2023
  • Eventually the children make it to school, their bus driver still perky if a little worse for wear, though a comical coda suggests that more mischief awaits them all on the ride home.
    Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 19 Aug. 2022
  • And then, finally, Perry opens his door in a rumpled undershirt and boxer shorts and generally looking worse for wear.
    Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Many pointed out that entertainment events have long left baseball diamonds worse for wear and questioned Minute Maid’s decision to host them between games.
    Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2022
  • There’s a harsh, briny tang to Ingolfsdottir’s writing in such scenes, with the film’s most authentic confrontations leaving all concerned parties — not to mention the audience — worse for wear.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 5 July 2024
  • Consult the economics textbooks, and the combined force of the worst inflationary wave since the 1980s and rapidly rising interest rates should have left the American economy looking worse for wear.
    Will Daniel, Fortune, 3 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word '(the) worse for wear.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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