off-key

[ awf-kee, of- ]

adjective

1. deviating from the correct tone or pitch; out of tune.
2. Informal. somewhat irregular, abnormal, or incongruous.

off key

adjective

1. music
   1. not in the correct key
   2. out of tune
2. out of keeping; discordant

Word History and Origins

Origin of off-key¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

She also played a double-crossing hotel detective inspector as well as a member of a wedding party singing purposefully off key lyrics, inspired by “Espresso,” to expose bad behavior at the bachelorette party.

From Los Angeles Times

"What strikes a chord with shoppers one season might be off key the next and social media has made being 'on trend' even more important".

From BBC

To anyone intimately familiar with “An Enemy of the People,” written by Henrik Ibsen, those lines might sound slightly off key.

From New York Times

Twitter, now X, shed users and relevance after its chaotic takeover by Elon Musk, while Google and Meta laid off key news employees and the head of Instagram’s Threads app said it would not focus on news.

From New York Times

Farmers have cut off key roads for days in the south-west, one of the France's most important agricultural regions.

From BBC

Related Words

• discordant
• dissonant