off-kilter

American  

[awf-kil-ter, of‐] / ˈɔfˈkɪl tər, ˈɒf‐ /

adjective

1. not exactly straight or balanced; askew; uneven.

   off-kilter paintings on every wall.

2. not completely well; somewhat ill.

   still off-kilter two weeks after the flu.

3. unusual or eccentric; unconventional.

   short stories with off-kilter endings.

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Etymology

Origin of off-kilter

First recorded in 1925–30; off ( def. ) + kilter ( def. )

Example Sentences

Unaccounted weight on one side can also set the capsule off-kilter.

From Los Angeles Times

Something knocked the underside of the raft, throwing it off-kilter, and Clare dropped to all fours, crying out for Gingersnipes as she tumbled around but managed to stay aboard.

From Literature

Despite the age gap, the off-kilter attraction between Dianne and Sam is understandable, given how unhappy both of them are with their stuck lives.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

With a disarming, at times disorienting, blend of sincerity and irony touched by a bit of stoned whimsy, the comedy troupe known as the Dress Up Gang create an off-kilter, only-in-L.A. tale about a bored remote worker who becomes part of a scheme to rescue houseplants from owners who don’t properly care for them.

From Los Angeles Times