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:
Greek officials say they were faced with a dilemma on what to do with a vessel that had repeatedly declined offers of assistance, worried that even the slightest shift could unbalance the boat.
From Reuters ● Jun. 15, 2023
A rash of late summer signings seemed like a quick fix and created an unbalance to the side that Nice coach Lucien Favre has yet to resolve.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2022
Directorial impulses that seem designed to ratchet up the audience-pleasing quotients of some of his most famous plays, but that in one way or another unbalance them and diminish their inherent power.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 22, 2022
There are, however, dangers associated with doing this, as it could cause damage and even unbalance the ship.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2021
She went on, “So he accepted the item, but not without a certain jar. Even with death temporary and its importance depressed, it was enough to unbalance him very gently.”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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
While metals are essential for normal brain function, problems can arise when their levels become unbalanced.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 7, 2026
And while there had been growth, it had been "unbalanced", he said, with around a third coming from the creation of artificial intelligence data centres.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
The whatever-it-was crawled out from between the ties and into the sun, where it crouched on its haunches and leered at us with an unbalanced smile, as if imagining how our brains might taste.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
"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
"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
People carrying their goods from a busy market day prepared to disembark, unbalancing the ferry, which capsized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2018
He ended up unbalancing his own side and harming Messi's role within it.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2013
Duane, who was already dizzy from the jumping, was now finding the hare’s quick, clipped way of talking equally unbalancing, not to mention all the twitches and tics that accompanied her speech.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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.
