イディオム

a fate worse than death

死ぬよりもひどい（と思える）悲惨な運命・結末。

一般中級一般的

emotionscommonintermediate

Meaning

An outcome so dreadful that dying would seem preferable.

Origin

A hyperbolic phrase used in English for centuries to stress extreme dread. It became especially common in 19th–early 20th century writing, often about dishonor or captivity, where social disgrace was framed as worse than dying.

Examples

He said losing his independence would be a fate worse than death.

彼は、自立を失うことは死よりもつらい運命だと言った。

She feared public humiliation more than anything—a fate worse than death, in her mind.

彼女にとっては、世間の前で恥をかくことが何より恐ろしく、死よりもつらい運命だと思っていた。

To him, being stuck in a job he hated forever was a fate worse than death.

彼にとって、嫌いな仕事に一生縛られることは死よりもつらい運命だった。

In the novel, the hero chooses exile over captivity, calling prison a fate worse than death.

その小説では、主人公は捕虜になるより追放を選び、牢獄を死よりもつらい運命だと呼ぶ。

Missing the championship game because of an injury felt like a fate worse than death to the team captain.

けがで決勝戦に出られないのは、主将にとって死よりもつらい運命のように感じられた。

Notes (Japanese)

強い誇張表現で、恐怖・屈辱・破滅的結果を強調する。深刻な話題では大げさ・不適切に響くこともあるので注意。

Notes (English)

Strong hyperbole to emphasize extreme dread, shame, or ruin. Can sound melodramatic; be cautious with sensitive topics (e.g., illness, death).

Grammar & Usage Notes (Japanese)

名詞句として用い、「a fate worse than death」をそのまま目的語・補語にすることが多い。比較表現として「seem/feel like…」などと相性がよい。

Grammar & Usage Notes (English)

Usually used as a noun phrase with an indefinite article: “a fate worse than death.” Often appears after verbs like face/meet/avoid or in comparisons (“seemed like a fate worse than death”). Sometimes used without “fate” (“worse than death”), but the full phrase is the fixed idiom.

補足（日本語）