off balance
34
4.0
- idiom
- /ɔf ˈbæl.əns/
:
descolocado
- After the unexpected news, she felt emotionally off balance for several days.
- throw someone off balance
- keep someone off balance
Let him feel a little bit off balance by your casualness.
- Let him feel a little bit off balance by your casualness.
- The pitcher's got to keep him off balance and throw him what he doesn't expect.
- Triangulated relationships always leave people off balance for all of the reasons that I have shared.
- It's a way for them to save face when they are feeling really off balance.
- And you notice that you start to feel less secure, less confident, more off balance, more kind of on edge when you're around this person.
- And people can actually sense this when you're off balance, what you want to do is bring it back to center to really be yourself.
- So we have then if it goes off balance with the perfect balance of spirit and matter, it can go off to the spirit side.
Examples
-
We are constantly off balance and that sympathetic nervous system is always running, which over time takes a toll on our health.
-
They're completely off balance.
-
If you are off balance even a little, you lose points.
-
Adding two more will throw the system off balance.
-
You caught me off balance.
-
Let him feel a little bit off balance by your casualness.
-
I am completely off-balance now.
-
If he missed mass, he was off-balance the rest of the day.
Fiction book (1994) -
When Rosemary stood up, she was a little off balance, a little drunk.
Fiction book (1990) -
All right, look, I realize that I've been a little off balance lately, but I think with hindsight, I'm learning to deal with it better.
Synonyms
91
4.4
A person whose mood or behavior changes suddenly
14
3.8
Not steady in position, health, or feeling
7
7.5
Not straight or level and a little strange
6
5.1
Feeling confused or lost about your place among others
2
9.9
Confused and unable to think clearly after something unexpected
1
8.7
Not fully paying attention and feeling confused or dreamy
Not steady in your body or feelings
Feeling mentally unsteady and unable to focus
Antonyms
How Balanced
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'in a state of instability' is directly derivable from combining 'off' (indicating away from or not in correct condition) with 'balance' (a state of equilibrium). This compositional pattern (meaning 'not balanced' physically or metaphorically) is common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's sense.
Etymology
Off balance probably comes from the image of someone stepping off a narrow beam or a scale tipping, so they lose their balance and feel unsteady. So, today off balance means 'physically or emotionally unsteady', often after something unexpected.