off-kilter

adjective

off-kil·​ter ˈȯf-ˈkil-tər 

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

Synonyms

• bizarre
• bizarro
• cranky
• crazy
• curious
• eccentric
• erratic
• far-out
• funky
• funny
• kinky
• kooky
• kookie
• odd
• off-the-wall
• offbeat
• out-of-the-way
• outlandish
• outré
• peculiar
• quaint
• queer
• queerish
• quirky
• remarkable
• rum [chiefly British]
• screwy
• spaced-out
• strange
• wacky
• whacky
• way-out
• weird
• weirdo
• wild

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

With its fast-changing time signatures and off-kilter melodies, this song is treacherous ground for any singer. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2025

There’s always something uncanny in there that’s a little off-kilter. —Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

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. —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

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for off-kilter

• filter
• kilter
• quilter