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
Jed Gould was an influential Los Angeles disc jockey, known as Jed the Fish, who used his off-kilter sensibility and deep musical knowledge to shine a light on artists like the Cure at the groundbreaking New Wave and alternative rock station KROQ-FM in the 1980s and ’90s.
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Zachary Small, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025
Djokovic played his third-round match, but looked understandably off-kilter and lost to Tabilo.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2025
On the other side of the country, Manhattan’s Soho Press offers an off-kilter mystery that is un-baaaa-lievable but so much fun.
—Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2025
In any case, that scenario finds musical expression in an unyielding melody, hardly resting over off-kilter meters.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for off-kilter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-kilter
Adjective
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Sinner won a bizarre semifinal in his first tournament back from a three-month doping ban, while Alcaraz triumphed in a sloppy duel.—
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Known for its deluge of gruesome deaths that just get more bizarre with each iteration, Final Destination is now returning for a sixth movie.—
Adjective
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Bread crumbs • Props to the hair, makeup, and costuming departments for differentiating Kiki’s Simone from pre-Michaela Simone, who showed up to the island with a scraggly ponytail, a gray button-down, uneven skin, and scrawled tattoos.—
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Case for caution: On the flip side, skeptics point to the uneven performances, particularly internationally, and concerns about his hockey sense.—
Adjective
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The long strange trip is proving to be even longer than anyone thought.—
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Because of this strange clustering, the Atlantic Shark Institute has posted signs around Narragansett alerting beachgoers to be on the lookout.—
Adjective
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His monsters are inventive and weird — and almost endlessly memeable.—
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Just a weird observation about the oscillator that is worth pointing out.—
Adjective
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Among them is Tonic, which stars Blair (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For) as Sebastian Poe, a struggling jazz pianist who is given 24 hours to kill a dangerous drug dealer (Westwick) by a crooked cop (Jaso Coviello), and spirals into a moral and emotional tailspin.—
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Cigarette smoke, dames to kill for, crooked cops — latex super suit?—
Adjective
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That’s not to say the film isn’t funny or sweet, but that there is something much more profound and uncomfortable at its heart, and one that poses a tricky challenge for first-time filmmakers Johansson and Kamen.—
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His translation recognizes, here and throughout, that the original is funny and compelling enough not to need elaborate explanation, even 60 years after its debut.—
Adjective
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The Cubs left fielder attempted to go through a full day of pregame work, including hitting and throwing, but his left oblique strain didn’t feel quite right.—
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The Yankees are also hoping that Jazz Chisholm Jr. (oblique) will return soon from the injured list.—
Adjective
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Built as part of the Cardiff Hall plantation, the property had fallen into near ruin; chickens and the odd goat wandered through the living room.—
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Unique creatures, odd animals and new species are discovered across the planet.—
Cite this Entry
“Off-kilter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-kilter. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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