off-kilter
Americanadjective
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not exactly straight or balanced; askew; uneven.
off-kilter paintings on every wall.
-
not completely well; somewhat ill.
still off-kilter two weeks after the flu.
-
unusual or eccentric; unconventional.
short stories with off-kilter endings.
Etymology
Origin of off-kilter
First recorded in 1925–30; off ( def. ) + kilter ( def. )
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.
Dark as the story is, though, co-writer Joss Holden-Rea’s tunes are stunners with limber melodies and creatively off-kilter lyrics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Its off-kilter tone and genuinely disturbing climax made it a favourite for horror fans.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
On the other, he knew that the company had dabbled in off-kilter programming offerings for the past 50 years.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Matthew Shear directs a warm, off-kilter dramedy in which he plays an anxious young man who strikes up a relationship with a faded movie star whose children he babysits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
In the open, dusty area between wrecked car mountains, Rutilio executed an off-kilter pirouette in time to his own breathy beatboxing.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
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.
