off-key
Americanadjective
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deviating from the correct tone or pitch; out of tune.
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Informal. somewhat irregular, abnormal, or incongruous.
adjective
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music
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not in the correct key
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out of tune
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out of keeping; discordant
Etymology
Origin of off-key
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She’s funny and interesting and a little off-key but fully committed, and you never know what she’s going to do next.”
From Los Angeles Times
One person hemmed in by perfectionist anxiety was invited to sing with an off-key Masli.
From Los Angeles Times
“Shadow Ticket’s” structure turns the current film adaptation of “Vineland” inside out — that would be “One Battle After Another,” whose thrilling middle more than redeems an only slightly off-key beginning and end.
From Los Angeles Times
Stewart and the correspondents then serenaded the president with an off-key tune filled with compliments and praises.
From Los Angeles Times
Amid all of this, responses from the administration were sometimes glaringly off-key.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
