imbalance
Americannoun
-
the state or condition of lacking balance, as in proportion or distribution.
-
faulty muscular or glandular coordination.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of imbalance
Explanation
An imbalance occurs when you have too much of some things and too little of others. If you put so much pepper in your soup that you can't taste the other spices, then you caused an imbalance in your flavoring. It’s easy to remember the meaning of imbalance when you break the word into parts. You might recognize the prefix im- as a way to say “not.” Combine that with the familiar word balance, and you come up with something that is decidedly out of whack, or not balanced. It means that something is out of proportion, such as a trade imbalance between nations, meaning the amount of goods they sell to one another is not equal.
Vocabulary lists containing imbalance
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: in-, im-, il-, ir-
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
im-
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
im-
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Prince, Adnan and 16-year-old Henry are all ambassadors for the Hackney-based youth group Voyage, which describes itself as a social justice charity tackling racial imbalance in London.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
“He’s been very helpful on the global campaigns where nations have a trade imbalance with the U.S.,”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
"I think it goes without saying that we have to address this imbalance, because it comes at the expense of our industry."
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Meaningful progress on affordability will still depend on expanding supply and addressing the structural imbalance between housing demand and availability,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
We’d been breaking into arguments all year, teetering on a seesaw of perpetual imbalance, because he was always either one way or the other.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
For example, dehydration often causes a severe drop in blood pressure and imbalances in electrolytes like sodium and potassium.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
Such imbalances create a “wobbling” global trade system that in a crisis may lead to sharper swings in debt levels, capital flows and currency values—“the stuff of economists’ nightmares.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Sefcovic will tell Wang the current imbalances are unsustainable for the EU before hosting the Chinese minister for a special dinner on Monday evening.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
At a policy level, there are similar imbalances, he says.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
It is my own feeling that the most successful line of research will be that taken by the men studying enzyme imbalances.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
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.
