1
as in bizarre
different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion
he's nice enough, but there's something a little off-kilter about him
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in uneven
inclined or twisted to one side
to me, the painting on the wall looks a little off-kilter
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of off-kilter
Everything about that show was surreal and off-kilter.
—
Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
Classic shapes like a neat overcoat, or prim skirt arrived in off-kilter colors and patterns.
—Christina Holevas, Vogue, 3 Mar. 2026
When the control room programmed the flight deck to re-create full turbulence, the steady waves suddenly turned chaotic, off-kilter, completely unpredictable.
—Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Her scenes this season were mostly involving very detuned and off-kilter piano.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for off-kilter
Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
Classic shapes like a neat overcoat, or prim skirt arrived in off-kilter colors and patterns.
—Christina Holevas, Vogue, 3 Mar. 2026
When the control room programmed the flight deck to re-create full turbulence, the steady waves suddenly turned chaotic, off-kilter, completely unpredictable.
—Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Her scenes this season were mostly involving very detuned and off-kilter piano.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for off-kilter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-kilter
Adjective
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The troubled production resulted in a bizarre cyberpunk schlock-flick that felt far removed from what most fans understood Mario to be.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Since the border is not straight but snakes along old county lines, some of the journey was bizarre.—
Colm Tóibín,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Accessibility Due to Lupaia’s location on a steep hilltop with gravel pathways and naturally uneven grounds at various levels, this resort is not wheelchair accessible.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 Apr. 2026
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The truth is that the track record for Olympic host cities is pretty uneven.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Some 18 months ago, Mack said, the Royals launched a deep dive after Picollo broached the possibility of exploring strange new worlds.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
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But rather than avoiding strange quantum phenomena such as superposition and entanglement, Bennett and Brassard embraced them.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The Escalade also offers a large head up display and a tilted control panel to provide quick access to climate and other functions.—
Scotty Reiss,
Parents,
24 Feb. 2026
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Naturally, Uranus' tilted rotation has a part to play in how auroral activity manifests on the planet.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Everyone got obsessed with weird things in the pandemic, like jigsaw puzzles or baking sourdough.—
Kate Bradshaw,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Running a restaurant can do some weird things to your head.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Debuting them in a brief, awkward first flight, like a firework that shoots crooked after being in storage too long.—
María Ospina,
The Dial,
31 Mar. 2026
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Tolkan also played Napoleon and his look-alike in Woody Allen’s Love and Death (1975) and was the crooked accountant known as Numbers who works for Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino) in Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy (1990).—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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There’s a funny reason why the pain flares in your upper face and forehead, a bit of a distance from the area responsible for the cold.—
Julia Daye,
Popular Science,
2 Apr. 2026
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As funny as her life seems, like everyone's, serious moments pepper the comedy.—
David Oliver,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Rookie Owen Caissie, a late addition to the starting lineup after original first baseman Christopher Morel was scratched with a left oblique strain, then drove in Edwards with a double to left-center.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
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Lowe missed much of spring training because of oblique tightness on his left side.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Off-kilter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-kilter. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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