off-key

[awf-kee, of-]

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adjective

deviating from the correct tone or pitch; out of tune.

Informal. somewhat irregular, abnormal, or incongruous.

Origin of off-key

First recorded in 1925–30

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for off key

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)

music

not in the correct key
out of tune

out of keeping; discordant

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.