least-worst

adjective

1. informal.
   bad but better than any available alternative

Example Sentences

"The difficulty of this election is that none of the choices is clear-cut on the issues, so the challenge for us voters is to choose the least-worst option," a businessman in central Jakarta told the BBC.

From BBC

"We'd never want to do that, but what we're looking at is the least-worst option for them."

From BBC

In 1975, Harper’s Magazine ranked Seattle the “least-worst city” in the country.

From Seattle Times

“This is not the thing they care most about in terms of China. It is not their top priority, but they are caught trying to find the least-worst solution between youth backlash on the one side and China backlash on the other.”

From Washington Post

But it also sets up its protagonist, a cranky authoritarian with nepotistic tendencies, as the least-worst alternative to save a dying way of life.

From New York Times