off-key
Americanadjective
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deviating from the correct tone or pitch; out of tune.
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Informal. somewhat irregular, abnormal, or incongruous.
adjective
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music
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not in the correct key
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out of tune
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out of keeping; discordant
Etymology
Origin of off-key
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
One person hemmed in by perfectionist anxiety was invited to sing with an off-key Masli.
From Los Angeles Times
“Shadow Ticket’s” structure turns the current film adaptation of “Vineland” inside out — that would be “One Battle After Another,” whose thrilling middle more than redeems an only slightly off-key beginning and end.
From Los Angeles Times
Stewart and the correspondents then serenaded the president with an off-key tune filled with compliments and praises.
From Los Angeles Times
Amid all of this, responses from the administration were sometimes glaringly off-key.
From BBC
These songs look and feel like old-Hollywood-style musical numbers, but charm because of their imperfections; characters sing off-key, they lose their breath and their voices crack.
From Salon
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.
