untune

[ uhn-toon, -tyoon ]

verb (used with object)

, un·tuned, un·tun·ing.

1. to render or cause to become out of tune:

   Changes in weather can untune a violin.

2. to discompose; upset, as the mind or emotions.

Word History and Origins

Origin of untune¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; un- ² + tune

Example Sentences

Her albums — particularly “Energy Field” from 2010, which occasionally calls to mind drum-less heavy metal or an untuned violin — unfurl as tone poems, giving her changing surroundings a spiritual gravitas.

From New York Times

Despite widespread criticisms of punk at the time — untuned guitars, bad playing of instruments, too much screaming — Zientara maintained an optimism about where the music would go.

From Washington Post

Still, Judis would surely wave aside these objections as typical liberal fastidiousness, untuned to the more elemental, raw longings of national identity that liberals need to accommodate fast.

From New York Times

His voice was a whine that sounded like an untuned fiddle.

From Literature

At National Sawdust, he will perform an intimate augmented solo set that asks audiences to “reconcile untuned guitar noise and ballad singing.”

From New York Times