out of step
- idiom
- That was, yes, another very frustrating example of Utah being out of step with other states that are moving in the direction of freedom.
- seems out of step
- so out of step
If you're old, you're out of step with the modern show business.
- If you're old, you're out of step with the modern show business.
- So despite doing all this incredible shit, being out of step with your time is rough.
- At that point, what I have brought to the subject is out of step.
- And so I think that what's happening right now is that this sort of far left kind of woke collection of views is, is quite out of step with most of the public.
- That was, yes, another very frustrating example of Utah being out of step with other states that are moving in the direction of freedom.
- Upon arrival, she raised eyebrows with a habit that was out of step with other senior managers eating in the employee cafeteria.
Examples
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But he appears increasingly out of step with his erstwhile constituents.
Academic text (2008) -
I mean, at this point though, the American left is really out of step with basically broader liberalism.
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So yeah, it's it's nothing that is out of step with who I am.
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You were always out of step with the world.
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In this way, he was out of step with his times.
Fiction book (1998) -
As the election made clear, this policy is out of step with voters.
Blog text (14) -
The recommendations again are sometimes out of step with the evidence.
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But it could become an isolated country, out of step with much of the world.
Academic text (1999) -
- Great artists are almost always out of step with what's going on in society because they see the world differently and they act differently.
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The company's policies are often out of step with current environmental standards, causing criticism from activists.
Synonyms
Behaving in a way that is not acceptable to others
Not following the planned path or topic
Old-fashioned and not keeping up with new ideas
Unusual in a way that does not follow normal rules
Not matching the style or mood of a situation
An idea or action that is unusual and not part of normal rules
Antonyms
How Aligned
Surface Forms
Morphology
The expression extends the literal idea of being physically 'out' of a 'step' (i.e., not in rhythm) into a social/metaphorical sense of not being in sync with others. A B1 learner who knows 'out' and 'step' can probably infer the general idea of 'not matching or in agreement', but the conventional social nuance is metaphorical and not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Out of step comes from marching: if your step is out of time with the group, your foot does not move with the others. So the phrase now means 'not in agreement with others'.