unbalance
Americanverb (used with object)
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unbalances,
present (3rd person singular)
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unbalanced,
past participle, past
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unbalancing
present participle
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to throw or put out of balance.
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to disorder or derange, as the mind.
noun
verb
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to upset the equilibrium or balance of
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to disturb the mental stability of (a person or his mind)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unbalancesimple
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unbalancessimple
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have unbalancedperfect
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has unbalancedperfect
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am unbalancingprogressive
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are unbalancingprogressive
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is unbalancingprogressive
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have been unbalancingperfect progressive
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has been unbalancingperfect progressive
Past
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unbalancedsimple
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had unbalancedperfect
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was unbalancingprogressive
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were unbalancingprogressive
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had been unbalancingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unbalance
Explanation
To unbalance is to make unsteady or uneven. A sudden gust of wind might unbalance you when you're on a sailboat — don't forget to wear a life jacket! Throw something off balance, and you unbalance it. Tickling someone who's in a one-legged yoga stance will unbalance them, and leaning too far to one side will unbalance a new bike rider. You can also call this state of being out of kilter or wobbly unbalance: "The unbalance of the tightrope walker made me glad there was a net underneath him!" And figuratively, unbalance can also mean "disturb or upset."
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:
“That’s something we need on this team, players that will unbalance defenses and open up gaps to be able to play through teams.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2024
“He can really unbalance opponents’ defenders and give us that final-third quality that we’ve been maybe lacking before we got him.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2022
"I assure you that we will not allow any kind of provocation to unbalance us."
From Reuters ● Mar. 3, 2022
In the days when bottles were handmade, glassblowers would push in the bottoms of bottles to make certain they would stand upright, without a nub of glass to unbalance them.
From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 2021
The building shook mightily, with enough force to unbalance several terrified Clock Watchers, toppling them.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
And if you change something, it unbalances everything.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2025
There’s a hollowness to Martin’s interpretation that unbalances the otherwise strong ensemble and the dynamics of the Crump household, which Godfrey throws into turmoil when he abruptly remarries.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2023
“The problem is respecting intellectual property, dealing with excess capacity, which sometimes unbalances some world markets, and the ability to deal rapidly with conflicts we may have and with unfair situations,” Macron told reporters.
From Fox News ● Aug. 26, 2019
He likes to cook, he says, but the role occasionally unbalances him.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 18, 2018
I try again and another wave of vertigo unbalances me.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
The rise of excessive current-account deficits and surpluses reflects increasingly unbalanced growth dynamics in China, the European Union and the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
It left the squad mediocre and unbalanced as expensive new acquisitions spluttered or suffered injuries, while their recruitment team failed to deliver one of their most significant targets.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
By identifying a specific nitric oxide-TSC2-mTOR connection, the study offers a new framework for understanding how cellular signaling may become unbalanced in autism.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026
The rising Chinese competition has added to concerns the economic relationship between China and Europe is unbalanced, and has fuelled calls for businesses to "de-risk", mainly by expanding into other markets.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
Things would have been terribly strange and unbalanced without her.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
But Nora’s passion is as obsessive as it is unbalancing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2024
"They are a keystone species, meaning if they were to be removed from the ecosystem, we would see a cascade of ecological effects — an unbalancing."
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2024
In the blink of an eye, she is capable of unbalancing defenders with her athleticism, finding space and causing chaos.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2023
"It's a very high cost, it would have to be done gradually and amid a tax reform without unbalancing the public accounts," he said.
From Reuters ● Nov. 1, 2022
Ha, Pet said inside her head, its voice showing up with an abrupt and unbalancing suddenness.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
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.
