akilter

adj — 2 senses

akilter

adj

Etymology From a- + kilter?

1

crooked, out of alignment, askew

All of their gardens had been crushed by winter storms and their corn patches were defeated and all akilter.1995, Richard Brautigan, Revenge of the Lawn, page 109:

2

Figuratively twisted, dysfunctional

He knew something was wrong by the smell of the house and the sounds and colours of uneasy light that told him the mood of things was all akilter.2002, Iris Murdoch, The Time of the Angels, page 297:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.