unbalance
Americanverb (used with object)
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to throw or put out of balance.
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to disorder or derange, as the mind.
noun
verb
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to upset the equilibrium or balance of
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to disturb the mental stability of (a person or his mind)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have unbalancedperfect
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has unbalancedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been unbalancingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am unbalancingprogressive 1st person singular
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is unbalancingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are unbalancingprogressive
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unbalancingparticiple
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have been unbalancingperfect progressive
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unbalancessingular 3rd person
Past
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had unbalancedperfect
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had been unbalancingperfect progressive
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unbalancedparticiple
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was unbalancingprogressive singular
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unbalancedsimple
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were unbalancingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of unbalance
Explanation
To unbalance is to make unsteady or uneven. A sudden gust of wind might unbalance you when you're on a sailboat — don't forget to wear a life jacket! Throw something off balance, and you unbalance it. Tickling someone who's in a one-legged yoga stance will unbalance them, and leaning too far to one side will unbalance a new bike rider. You can also call this state of being out of kilter or wobbly unbalance: "The unbalance of the tightrope walker made me glad there was a net underneath him!" And figuratively, unbalance can also mean "disturb or upset."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“That’s something we need on this team, players that will unbalance defenses and open up gaps to be able to play through teams.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024
Paralluelo's mastery with both feet allowed her to link up play or unbalance defenders.
From BBC • Aug. 22, 2023
"I assure you that we will not allow any kind of provocation to unbalance us."
From Reuters • Mar. 3, 2022
In the days when bottles were handmade, glassblowers would push in the bottoms of bottles to make certain they would stand upright, without a nub of glass to unbalance them.
From New York Times • Dec. 30, 2021
The building shook mightily, with enough force to unbalance several terrified Clock Watchers, toppling them.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
