worst case
Most pessimistic outcome
Worst case describes the most unfavorable outcome imaginable in a given situation: What's the worst case if we miss the deadline?
Often hyphenated as an adjective: worst-case scenario.
The phrase anchors planning discussions, helping people prepare for possibilities they hope won't happen: Worst case, we lose the deposit.
Sudden ruinous event
- catastropheDevastating, large-scale misfortune
- apocalypseTotal civilizational collapse
- meltdownCatastrophic loss of control
- collapseSudden structural failure
crisis · emergency · calamity · doomsday · hypothetical · eventuality · contingency · outcome
Uncertain possible event
- preparationArranging things in advance
- backupStored duplicate for recovery
- readinessState of being prepared
- mitigationReduction of severity
insurance · safeguard · provision · strategy · drill · stockpile · evacuation · resilience
Unavoidable grim fate
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- despairTotal absence of hope
dread · anxiety · foreboding · defeatism · cynicism · bleakness · hopelessness · negativity
Possibility of harm
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
- calculationMathematical problem-solving process
- estimateInformed guess at quantity
projection · modeling · threshold · bounds · parameters · tolerance · exposure · vulnerability
disaster
Sudden ruinous event
- catastropheDevastating, large-scale misfortune
- apocalypseTotal civilizational collapse
- meltdownCatastrophic loss of control
collapse · crisis · emergency · calamity · doomsday · hypothetical · eventuality · contingency · outcome · possibility
contingency
Uncertain possible event
- preparationArranging things in advance
- backupStored duplicate for recovery
- readinessState of being prepared
mitigation · insurance · safeguard · provision · strategy · drill · stockpile · evacuation · resilience · fallback
doom
Unavoidable grim fate
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
despair · dread · anxiety · foreboding · defeatism · cynicism · bleakness · hopelessness · negativity · worry
risk
Possibility of harm
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
- calculationMathematical problem-solving process
estimate · projection · modeling · threshold · bounds · parameters · tolerance · exposure · vulnerability · liability
- Strategic Planningcontingency plan, contingency plans, forecasting, roadmap, decision tree
- Murphy's Lawbad luck, misfortune, mishaps, fails, snafus
- optimizationoptimization, caching, optimum, indexing, prefetching
- strategystrategy, grand strategy, tactics, tactic, tactical
- hardshipshardship, adversity, struggle, misfortune, difficulties
- negativitynegativity, pessimism, cynicism, criticism, complaint
worst casebest case
Most favorable possibility
best-case scenario · dream scenario · upside · ceiling · upper bound
case, worst, worse, cases, worsen, worsening, worsened, worsted, worsens