as in tuneless
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Recent Examples of off-key
Nilsson’s watercolors complemented the work of the Hairy Who while also being slightly off-key; imagine the same hectic ragtime played on a calliope instead of a piano.
—
Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
That game became a cult hit for its hilarious simulations of everyday life, complete with Miis singing off-key, forming odd relationships and generating endless memes.
—Jason Bennett, Arkansas Online, 24 May 2026
His swan song was often off-key.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026
Warming up, Smith throws back his head and belts Bieber lyrics, joyfully off-key.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
Gran’s butter yellow Cadillac was a welcome surprise in the school carpool line, her slightly off-key singing voice kept me entertained in the church pews on Sunday morning, and her dining room table was the joyful location of many family celebrations.
—Brennan Long, Southern Living, 29 Nov. 2025
Additionally, Sanville and Freeman’s co-mingling vocals were, depending on the moment, complementary in their harmony or shredded in their screaming, without screeching into off-key territory.
—William Earl, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
The parody came in a chaotic birthday party sketch where Carpenter and her friends told a story through intentionally off-key performances.
—Bryan West, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Oct. 2025
The sketch centers on Kelsey (Chloe Fineman), whose affair with Domingo (Marcello Hernandez) is revealed to her husband, Matt (Andrew Dismukes), via a group of off-key girl friends.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 18 Oct. 2025
Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
That game became a cult hit for its hilarious simulations of everyday life, complete with Miis singing off-key, forming odd relationships and generating endless memes.
—Jason Bennett, Arkansas Online, 24 May 2026
His swan song was often off-key.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026
Warming up, Smith throws back his head and belts Bieber lyrics, joyfully off-key.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
Gran’s butter yellow Cadillac was a welcome surprise in the school carpool line, her slightly off-key singing voice kept me entertained in the church pews on Sunday morning, and her dining room table was the joyful location of many family celebrations.
—Brennan Long, Southern Living, 29 Nov. 2025
Additionally, Sanville and Freeman’s co-mingling vocals were, depending on the moment, complementary in their harmony or shredded in their screaming, without screeching into off-key territory.
—William Earl, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
The parody came in a chaotic birthday party sketch where Carpenter and her friends told a story through intentionally off-key performances.
—Bryan West, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Oct. 2025
The sketch centers on Kelsey (Chloe Fineman), whose affair with Domingo (Marcello Hernandez) is revealed to her husband, Matt (Andrew Dismukes), via a group of off-key girl friends.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 18 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-key
Adjective
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Her aesthetics and tuneless vocals left audiences in awe and laughter.—
Raquel Willis,
Time,
19 June 2025
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For the rest of us, a real musical comedy is a cause for celebration; most are either too tuneless to be musicals or too dull to be comedies.—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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As is Takal, clearly having fun with the film’s queasy, lurching atmospherics, abetted by the sparse, shivery, atonal chimes of Jonathan Goldsmith’s score, and the floating, disembodied feel of Robert Leitzell’s camerawork.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
13 June 2026
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The first concert starts with Ciani’s signature ocean sounds before Cunningham’s chords—dull, glassy—add an atonal sheen.—
Andrew Ryce,
Pitchfork,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Residents who have discussed the issue online described the smell as one of the most unpleasant aspects of the ongoing seaweed buildup.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
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The figure-skimming silhouette also prevents the unpleasant feeling of sweating in too-tight clothes.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
12 June 2026
Adjective
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There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
12 June 2026
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The disagreeable object proved no match for the most fertile person in Montana.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Off-key.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-key. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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