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Glite Dictionary
🤔 To confuse 🧥 To remove quickly
to throw off

to throw off

1 3.8
To quickly remove something you have or that bothers you
  • phrasal verb
  • /θroʊ ɔf/
translation icon : quitarse
  • Your illness may also be a grim reminder of their own mortality, or it may actually throw off their schedule.
  • throw off the shackles
  • threw off the covers

If you educate people to the superiority of the spiritual, they will throw off their evil ways.

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Examples

  • And So what will change it is if you throw off the sheets, put your feet in the ground and get up.

  • You can really throw off your entire health program with a nagging injury.

  • She threw off the covers and ran to the bathroom.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • "Hold your horses," she muttered as she threw off her covers.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • So there have been several studies showing that lavender and tea tree oils throw off hormones.

  • BPA, which mimics estrogen, can throw off that balance.

  • A sudden noise can throw off your concentration while studying.

  • She had to throw off her old habits to succeed in her new lifestyle.

  • If you don't follow the recipe closely, it might throw off the entire dish.

Synonyms

to take off
vsto throw off
∞ 1.5

To remove clothes or something from your body

also applies to quick removal of problems or to bad feelings
to throw away
vsto throw off
477 1.8

To get rid of something you do not want, for example by putting it in the bin

also applies to quick removal of physical items and of feelings
to shed
vsto throw off
131 3.5

To get rid of something you do not need

focuses on quick removal rather than gradual letting go
to shake off
vsto throw off
41 3.6

Make something unwanted go away, like an illness, a feeling, or a person following you

also covers quick removal of physical items as well as feelings
to pull off
vsto throw off
41 2.7

To take something off from where it is attached

is used for quick removal regardless of attachment or method
to toss out
vsto throw off
39 2.7

To throw away things you do not want

is used for quick removal too and for removing feelings
to cast
vsto throw off
38 4.0

To take off or throw away something

emphasizes quick removal rather than slow or general discarding
to slip off
vsto throw off
11 2.8

To take off quickly and easily, especially clothes or small items

applies also to non physical things such as feelings or illness
to cast away
vsto throw off
4 4.1

To throw away things you no longer want

is also used for quick removal of non physical burdens
to cast off
vsto throw off
3 4.8

To get rid of something you do not want or need

highlights quick removal and use for feelings or illness too

Antonyms

to keep
∞ 1.0

To continue doing something or stay in the same state

to retain
60 3.0

To hold something inside so it does not escape

How Quickly

to throw off
1 3.8
to shake off
41 3.6
to take off
∞ 1.5
to take away
795 2.3
to remove
∞ 1.5

Surface Forms

throw off infinitive
throwing off present participle
throws off third person singular
threw off past
thrown off past participle

Morphology

throw + off

The sense 'to cause confusion or disrupt plans' is a metaphorical extension of 'throw' (propel/move) + 'off' (away/remove), so a learner can partly infer the idea of being moved away from an expected course. However, the idiomatic nuance (disrupting plans or causing confusion rather than literally throwing something off) requires figurative interpretation and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb throw off comes from the image of taking something you wear, like a coat, and quickly throwing it off your body. So it came to mean 'to remove' or 'get rid of' something fast.