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.
This off-kilter visual style lends itself well to the magical world of South of Midnight, which presents its own take on decaying Americana with a highly textural feel in both its character designs and space, and also draws inspiration from Guillermo del Toro movies like Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2025 The Danish architect Arne Jacobsen’s famous off-kilter stainless-steel soup spoon—its bowl set to the side, to approach the lips ahead of its handle—was produced in both left- and right-handed models from the time of its initial casting, in 1957. Megan Marshall, The New Yorker, 8 Feb. 2025 Those fantasies were made a reality on the runway, with every color of the rainbow making its way down the runway in bold stripes, off-kilter tailoring, and oversized fringe and ruffled detailing. Anika Reed, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2025 That mix between political satire and off-kilter romance sits at the heart of Atropia, a film that Gates first set out to make as a documentary about the changeover in these fake towns from the Middle East to Russia, landing eventually in a fictional 2006 — three years into the Iraq War. Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 31 Jan. 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

Dictionary Entries Near off-kilter

Cite this Entry

“Off-kilter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/off-kilter. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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