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off-key

[awf-kee, of-]
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adjective
  1. deviating from the correct tone or pitch; out of tune.
  2. Informal. somewhat irregular, abnormal, or incongruous.
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Origin of off-key

First recorded in 1925–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

unusual, inappropriate, improper, strange, capricious, unorthodox, discordant, dissonant, hoarse, raspy, cracked, raucous, conflicting, different, various, dissimilar, disparate, atypical, diverse, contrary
British Dictionary definitions for off key

off key

adjective, adverb (off-key when prenominal)
  1. music
    1. not in the correct key
    2. out of tune
  2. out of keeping; discordant
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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 off key

off-key

adj.

1920, from off (adv.) + musical sense of key (n.1). Figurative sense is from 1943.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper