Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
akilter

akilter

9.9
Tilted or not in the right position
  • adjective
  • /əˈkɪltər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : torcido
  • She noticed the picture frames akilter on the wall after the tremor.

Examples

  • The picture hung akilter on the wall.

  • My sense of time was akilter because of jet lag.

  • After the move, his entire routine felt akilter for weeks.

  • Her hat was placed akilter on her head.

  • The picture frames were all akilter after the earthquake, making the room look disordered.

  • His tie was akilter, giving him a slightly unkempt appearance for the meeting.

  • She adjusted the bookshelf because the books were stacked akilter and looked untidy.

Synonyms

askew
vsakilter
13 6.0

Not straight or level and turned to one side

also covers wrong order, imbalance, or feeling disoriented
off-kilter
vsakilter
  • Informal
7 7.5

Not straight or level and a little strange

stresses wrong position or order rather than odd character
wonky
vsakilter
6 7.7

Not steady or straight and likely to wobble

focuses more on being out of alignment or disoriented rather than unstable
awry
vsakilter
2 6.8

Not in the correct position and turned to one side

is wider, including imbalance or being out of order
agley
vsakilter
  • Archaic
9.9

Not straight or level, often tilted

is broader, covering misorder, imbalance, and general disorientation
unaligned
vsakilter
5.1

Not in agreement or not in a straight line with something else

adds physical imbalance and disorder, not just lack of agreement

Antonyms

straight
442 1.0

In a direct line without curves or bends

aligned
4.2

In agreement with a group or idea

How Aligned

straight
∞ 1.0
aligned
3.7
askew
13 6.0
akilter
  • Archaic
9.9
crooked
58 2.5

Surface Forms

akilter positive

Morphology

akilter = kilter (semi-transparent) = a + kilter + a

Formed from the prefix 'a-' plus the noun 'kilter' (working order); the parts are identifiable but the meaning 'askew' and the archaic/rare use of 'a-' make the derivation not fully obvious to learners.

Etymology

Akilter is made from the parts a- and kilter, and kilter means 'proper order', as in the phrase 'out of kilter'. So akilter means 'not in the right order' or 'askew'.