unbalanced

[ uhn-bal-uhnst ]

/ ʌnˈbæl ənst /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unbalanced ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

lacking steadiness and soundness of judgment.

mentally disordered; deranged.

(of an account) not adjusted; not brought to an equality of debits and credits.

Football. of or relating to an offensive line formation having more than three linemen on one side of the center.Compare balanced(def 2).

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

unavoidable, unaware, unawares, unbacked, unbalance, unbalanced, unbalanced translocation, unballasted, unbar, unbarbed, unbarred

Origin of unbalanced

First recorded in 1640–50; un-¹ + balanced

SYNONYMS FOR unbalanced

3 disturbed, unsound, irrational.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unbalanced ON THESAURUS.COM

Definition for unbalanced (2 of 2)

unbalance

[ uhn-bal-uh ns ]

/ ʌnˈbæl əns /

verb (used with object), un·bal·anced, un·bal·anc·ing.

to throw or put out of balance.

to disorder or derange, as the mind.

noun

unbalanced condition.

Origin of unbalance

First recorded in 1580–90; un-² + balance

Related formsun·bal·ance·a·ble, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for unbalanced

In Rwanda, an unbalanced ratio leaves 83 of every 100 citizens dependent on the leftover 17 for survival.
After the Genocide, Rwanda’s Widows Aging Alone|Nina Strochlic|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But he neither liked nor trusted Governor La Follette, whom he regarded as unbalanced and dangerous to the Republican Party.
The GOP’s Last Identity Crisis Remade U.S. Politics|Michael Wolraich|July 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bob Smith: unbalanced, inconstant, and even more of a carpetbagger than the other guy.
Sen. Bob Smith: The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave|Michelle Cottle|December 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The important challenge is to correct for the unbalanced and unfair nature of this exchange.
Obama and Felipe Calderón Blow Chance to Talk Substance at G-20|John M. Ackerman|June 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST

He has never voted to raise taxes; he has never voted to approve an unbalanced budget.
Beware Ron Paul|Mark McKinnon|July 13, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Paddle wheels are sometimes provided with cast iron floats to act as counterweights to some unbalanced part of the engine.
Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II|Joshua Rose
The mystery of sea-life, we felt, had unbalanced the public view.
Merchantmen-at-Arms|David W. Bone
He was a musician and a man of culture—qualities that, in a prince, must be taken as dangerous indications of an unbalanced mind.
Essays in Rebellion|Henry W. Nevinson
This is the meaning of the cry raised against Tolstoy as unbalanced, in this latest change of his life from riches unto poverty.
Lectures on Russian Literature|Ivan Panin
Not without power in him, but unbalanced, hysterical, alternating between buffoonery and these schoolgirl emotions.
The Path of the King|John Buchan

British Dictionary definitions for unbalanced (1 of 2)

unbalanced

/ (ʌnˈbælənst) /

adjective

lacking balance

irrational or unsound; erratic

mentally disordered or deranged

biased; one-sidedunbalanced reporting

(in double-entry book-keeping) not having total debit balances equal to total credit balances

electronics (of signals or circuitry) not symmetrically disposed about earth or zero reference potential

British Dictionary definitions for unbalanced (2 of 2)

unbalance

/ (ʌnˈbæləns) /

verb (tr)

to upset the equilibrium or balance of

to disturb the mental stability of (a person or his mind)

noun

imbalance or instability

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