askew
adverb or adjective
Did you know?
If you watch enough nature documentaries you may notice that gazelles are able to escape the claws (and, subsequently, jaws) of cheetahs when they zigzag across the savannah rather than simply run in a straight line. In Middle English, prey outmaneuvering a predator in this way might be said to be “skewing.” Skew means both “to take an oblique course” (as it does in modern English too) as well as “to escape,” and comes from the Anglo-French word eschiver, meaning “to escape or avoid.” It’s this skew, with its suggestion of crooked lines, that forms the basis of the adjective askew (the prefix a- means “in [such] a state or condition”). Askew is used as both an adjective and an adverb to describe things or actions that are a little off, not straight, or at an angle. The “escape” sense of the Middle English skew isn’t so much implied by askew, but we suppose that a painting hanging askew on one’s wall could be, metaphorically speaking, attempting to escape from the rest of the décor.
Examples of askew in a Sentence
Ryan Chelius, Field & Stream, 15 May 2024
In nearby Beverly Glen, on Caribou Lane, an upside-down piano — caked in mud, keys askew — lay in the road.
—Angie Orellana Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2024
The interest in this project, as in any project is the potential for long-term success (profit) and risk sharing if anything goes askew during the process.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 May 2023
Daniel Ek, Spotify’s CEO, publicly communicated the market assumptions that steered the Swedish tech giant askew.
—Rod Berger, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Askew.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/askew. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
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askew
adverb or adjective
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