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
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of off-kilter
Who knows how many fights didn’t break out in a melee because the flight crew spotted off-kilter passengers and knew how to listen and empathize to defuse a disruption?
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Thomas Black, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025
Give me an off-kilter recommendation, defended well.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 19 Dec. 2025
Soon, DiRusso had a devoted, captivated audience built almost entirely online who saw her music as a joyous and off-kilter mirror to their own lives.
—Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 19 Dec. 2025
There are many, many wonderful films to get excited about seeing next year, but tucked in safe alongside the big budget event films and off-kilter superhero offerings, there’s one bonkers indie gem to get really hyped for.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for off-kilter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-kilter
Adjective
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His work is marked by unusual, even bizarre, material choices that encrust spatial compositions reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s innovative open space plans.—
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Some unnamed Chicago bartender in the early 1880s had the improbable idea of taking a Whiskey Sour and adding a little red wine to the top, inventing in a bizarre flash of insightone of the great warm weather whiskey drinks of our time.—
Adjective
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Future work will focus on integrating snow-deposition modeling with PV yield simulations to more accurately predict energy losses and on expanding analyses to more complex, uneven alpine terrain.—
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The Trojans' uneven season hasn't exactly helped slow rumors either.—
Adjective
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The sounds had become a strange new normal for the diverse Central neighborhood.—
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And there was a strange preoccupation with running out of time, even though the show ended a good 15 minutes early as if the performers didn’t understand their own timeline.—
Adjective
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Your stairs are nothing more than a narrow, tilted floor, much like a child’s slide at a playground.—
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Paramount did not bargain for WBD to foster, whether intentionally or unintentionally, a tilted and unfair process.—
Adjective
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The then-unknown Michael Shannon, whose early career roles in Chicago were every bit as weird as this play, starred in that production.—
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But this year, due to weird scheduling, the BAFTA nods will come out on January 27, after the Oscar nominations.—
Adjective
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Willms plans to call the Bureau of Land Management — the agency that oversees these parcels of federal land — to report the crooked stake.—
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Begin by removing any suckers at the base of the tree, side shoots on the trunk, crossing or crooked branches, dead or damaged branches, those that are growing inward, and crowded branches.—
Adjective
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To the contrary, though the film is frequently funny, Brewer takes their ambitions and reversals seriously.—
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Hockey is a funny game sometimes.—
Adjective
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For now, the pastor is keeping his politics oblique.—
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Losing Roman Anthony to an oblique strain in early September was a massive blow, and proved the offense wasn’t deep enough.—
Cite this Entry
“Off-kilter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-kilter. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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