Meaning & use
case scenario
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A possible situation or set of events that people imagine when planning, especially the best or worst one.
Grammar: Usually used in the fixed phrases 'best-case scenario' and 'worst-case scenario'; the plural is 'scenarios'.
Patterns
- in the best-case scenario
- in the worst-case scenario
- a best-case scenario for something
In the best-case scenario, the repairs will be finished by Friday.
The worst-case scenario is that the whole system fails during the holidays.
Planners wrote down several case scenarios before choosing a strategy.
Word forms
| plural | case scenarios |
|---|
Common combinations
- best-case scenario
- In the best-case scenario, we sell every ticket.
- worst-case scenario
- Even in the worst-case scenario, no one will lose their job.
- in a scenario
- In that scenario, the company would need a loan.
- plan for a scenario
- We plan for the worst-case scenario every year.
Synonyms and how they differ
- outcome
- An outcome is what actually happens, while a scenario is an imagined possibility used for planning.
- possibility
- This is more general and neutral; a scenario suggests a fuller picture of events.
Word family
- scenario noun
- A described situation or sequence of events.
Commonly confused: case scenario or case study?
case scenario vs case study
A case study is a detailed examination of a real example, not an imagined future situation.
Practice
___ the worst-case scenario, we would have to cancel the event.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is 'in the worst-case scenario'. 'On' and 'at' do not combine with 'scenario', and 'for' would suggest a purpose rather than a situation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “case scenario”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.