fared

Fared is the past tense and past participle of the verb fare. In modern English, fare has two main senses: to go or travel, and to perform in a given situation. As a result, fared is used primarily in intransitive constructions to describe the outcome or condition of someone or something rather than a direct action on an object. Common expressions include how did you fare?, the passengers fared well, and the expedition fared poorly.

Etymology and usage history: the verb fare originates from Old English faran, meaning to go or travel, and is related to the German fahren. The form fared developed in Middle English and remains in use in formal, literary, or journalistic contexts. It often appears in phrases with adjectives such as well, badly, poorly, or better/worse to express outcomes.

Usage notes: fared typically collocates with outcome-focused adjectives and is almost always intransitive. It can describe people, groups, or even nonhuman entities in terms of their experience or performance in a given situation, such as a journey, a campaign, or an economic period. In everyday speech, speakers more commonly use alternatives like how you did, or how things went. The word is sometimes confused with feared, due to a similar spelling, but has a distinct meaning tied to travel or performance rather than fear.

See also: fare, get along, perform, travel.