What is a word that we use to describe the worse of two things. (Like the worse of two evils)

I thought it was the word "latter" but that just means [the second of two things being described].

Anyone have a clue?

The term is usually described as
"less of two evils"
Worse of two evils is new to me

The epitome of evilness ?

:( Ehh, no I was looking for a word that describes something that is worse than something else..

My sentence would be used like this (obviously I'm blanking out the word that I need): "there are good qualities about both; the ((BLANK, NEEDED WORD)) is that it is ugly, old, and mean."

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Originally Posted by bluehazel23

What is a word that we use to describe the worse of two things. (Like the worse of two evils)

I thought it was the word "latter" but that just means [the second of two things being described].

Anyone have a clue?

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I would say use a different term, like superior and inferior. Inferior being a lesser of the two, not as good as, or a poorer quality. In a case like this inferior could work.

Restructure the sentence.
There are good and bad qualities about both;the latter bieng ugly,old and nean.

Or you could say "the worst being that it is ugly, old and mean."

Zippit's idea of restructuring the sentence is a great idea also.

Exacerbate... it means to make a bad situation worse.

Tough to say in the context of your sentence.

You want to say:

There are good qualities about both; the _____ is that it is ugly, old, and mean.

You are implying that both qualities are good. So the word you would want would one to describe the one that is not as good as the other. "Less good" is kind of a different side of the spectrum that "more worse" (I know... "more worse" is not correct.. but I was trying to make a point :D )

On the other hand, "ugly, old, and mean" doesn't seem to imply a "good quality".

So if "ugly, old, and mean" is considered to be a good quality in this case, then it would seem that the worse, the better (like when picking out a witch costume or something). In which case, you would need a word for "more worse" rather than "less good".

Am I reading into this too much? Lol

If you need a word to describe something as worse then something else, then Artlady's suggestion is pretty good!

I found a definition of bad though that gives different ways of saying that something is bad; and the latter is worse then the former.

1. Not achieving an adequate standard; poor: a bad concert.
2. Evil; sinful.
3. Vulgar or obscene: bad language.
4. Informal Disobedient or naughty: bad children.
5. Disagreeable, unpleasant, or disturbing: a bad piece of news.
6. Unfavorable: bad reviews for the play.
7. Not fresh; rotten or spoiled: bad meat.
8. Injurious in effect; detrimental: bad habits.
9. Not working properly; defective: a bad telephone connection.
10. Full of or exhibiting faults or errors: bad grammar.
11. Having no validity; void: passed bad checks.
12. Being so far behind in repayment as to be considered a loss: bad loans.
13. Severe; intense: a bad cold.

Hope this was of some help!

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artlady agrees: Having no validity; that sound very good in this context,if I understand it correctly.

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Yeah I think so to. LOl if I too understand the question in the OP correctly...

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Originally Posted by epawls

Exacerbate...it means to make a bad situation worse.

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Exacerbate is a verb - I don't see how it fits in the sentence "there are good qualities about both; the ((BLANK, NEEDED WORD)) is that it is ugly, old, and mean."

I also don't see this sentence being about the worse of two evils. It would appear to be more about good qualities offset by bad qualities.

I see it meaning something along the lines of "His good qualities are offset by his mean personality."

At best the sentence is awkward and appears to be poorly phrased. Is this a school assignment? Are you locked into this wording?