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askew

[uh-skyoo]
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adverb
  1. to one side; out of line; in a crooked position; awry: to wear one's hat askew; to hang a picture askew.
  2. with disapproval, scorn, contempt, etc.; disdainfully: They looked askew at the painting.
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adjective
  1. crooked; awry: Your clothes are all askew.
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Origin of askew

First recorded in 1565–75; a-1 + skew
Related formsa·skew·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for askew

Historical Examples

  • He pushed it askew; and then, since he did not need it now, discarded it altogether.

    Astounding Stories of Super-Science, October, 1930

    Various

  • Osborne resold this inimitable windfall to Dr Askew for sixty guineas.

    The Book-Hunter

    John Hill Burton

  • They hung all askew, helplessly pinned, some broadside, some upended.

    Wandl the Invader

    Raymond King Cummings

  • Its old logs, disjoined and askew, were all but on the ground.

  • At length, most unwillingly, Captain Askew told the men that he should return into the Tower.

    Washed Ashore

    W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for askew

askew

adverb, adjective
  1. at an oblique angle; towards one side; awry
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for askew

adv.

1570s, of uncertain etymology; perhaps literally "on skew" (see skew), or from the Old Norse form, a ska. Earlier askoye is attested in the same sense (early 15c.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper