for better or for worse

for better or for worse

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]