out of sorts
13
5.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
indispuesto
- I'm still a bit out of sorts with the whole thing.
- feel out of sorts
- seems out of sorts
- looked out of sorts
still just being so like out of sorts while I was on that trip and just feeling like I was never going to come out of like this,
- still just being so like out of sorts while I was on that trip and just feeling like I was never going to come out of like this,
Examples
-
Henry was a bit out of sorts.
-
You seem out of sorts.
-
Well, of course we all feel out of sorts at times.
-
Ah, you seem out of sorts.
-
By the time I reached the house, I was hot and tired and out of sorts.
-
I spent the rest of the time feeling out of sorts.
Fiction book (1997) -
I'm a little out of sorts today.
-
Violet's been so out of sorts lately.
-
No real symptoms, just out of sorts, sluggish, dulled, some trouble concentrating.
Fiction book (1992) -
I'm a little out of sorts today, so I might not join the meeting.
Synonyms
34
4.0
Feeling unsteady in body or mind after something sudden
3
6.5
Feeling a little unwell and not your usual self
1
8.2
Feeling slightly sick or not well
Feeling tired, uneasy, and unable to focus
Feeling worn out and easily upset after stress
Antonyms
How Unwell
- Specialized
50
3.0
632
1.0
18
1.0
- Informal
21
5.3
- Informal
13
5.9
14
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
out + of + sort
There is a partial, interpretable link: 'out of' suggests 'not in' and 'sort(s)' can be understood as 'kind' or 'usual state', so a learner might infer a meaning like 'not in one's usual state'. However, the specific sense 'slightly unwell, upset, or irritable' is a conventionalised, metaphorical extension that is not fully predictable from the parts and thus typically requires exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Out of sorts may come from an old idea that sorts were the small parts that keep things working, like pieces of a machine or the letters used in printing. If those parts were 'out of sorts' they were out of place and not right, so a person 'out of sorts' feels a little sick, upset, or grumpy.