off-kilter

adjective

off-kil·​ter ˈȯf-ˈkil-tər How to pronounce off-kilter (audio)
1
: not in perfect balance : a bit askew
off-kilter camera angles
His hat was slightly off-kilter.
2
: eccentric, unconventional
off-kilter characters
an off-kilter approach

Examples of off-kilter in a Sentence

he's nice enough, but there's something a little off-kilter about him to me, the painting on the wall looks a little off-kilter
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
David Kaplan approached Etude 15 with austerity, shaping its surging waves of sound with earnest precision, and embraced the shifting patterns of Etude 16’s off-kilter 7/8 meter with poise and control. Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 July 2025 The data showed that the drying sped up in 2014 when the strongest El Niño — a repetitive weather pattern associated with warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean — threw the global climate off-kilter. Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 28 July 2025 The Pedro Pascal Project doesn’t begin in 2015 — for those looking for an at least semi-complete look at the career of one of our great leading men of the moment, get ready to get weird with ten of Pedro Pascal’s most off-kilter and surprising roles. Tres Dean, Vulture, 25 July 2025 Since launching her namesake line in 2019, Rogge has become recognized for her off-kilter takes on the slip dress and her fantastic knits, including beaded cardigans for men and women. Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 15 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for off-kilter

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of off-kilter was in 1929

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Cite this Entry

“Off-kilter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/off-kilter. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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