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

In lieu of a digestible arc, the reader gets a peek inside the head of de Chirico, whose off-kilter paintings of empty city squares in the early 20th century would go on to strongly influence the Surrealists. —Rhian Sasseen, The Atlantic, 24 Feb. 2025

But the unravelling began at the start of the second half when a change in shape from Portugal threw England off-kilter. —Megan Feringa, The Athletic, 22 Feb. 2025

Their orbits didn't add up mathematically, and Lowell was convinced there was an undiscovered planet in the far reaches of the solar system that was knocking them off-kilter. —John Loeffler, Space.com, 18 Feb. 2025

Librarian-Chic The musical has left quite its mark on England, bringing together disparate audiences with its off-kilter queerness and comedy, as well as through its thematic material. —Juan A. Ramírez, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for off-kilter

• filter
• kilter
• quilter