unbalance

1 of 2

verb

un·​bal·​ance ˌən-ˈba-lən(t)s How to pronounce unbalance (audio)
unbalanced; unbalancing

transitive verb

: to put out of balance

unbalance

2 of 2

noun

: lack of balance : imbalance

Examples of unbalance in a Sentence

Verb If too many people stand up, it will unbalance the boat. The tax cuts have unbalanced the budget.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
And in medieval and early modern Europe, when impure blood was believed to unbalance the humors of the body and cause disease, the creatures were seen as solicitous helpers, ever ready to relieve a patient of their unwelcome plasma. Zoey Poll, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024 Joseph Stalin happens to be funding their movie, a fact that unbalances their moral calculus. The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2023 All of these groups were developing the self-confidence to challenge the prevailing Bible of Psychiatry, the DSM’s bleak litany of deficiencies unbalanced by their strength, and clearly needed an umbrella term for their common cause. Nancy Doyle, Forbes, 26 Aug. 2022 Surface use of bark won’t unbalance soil chemistry, whereas mixing bark into the soil will unbalance soil chemistry. oregonlive, 27 Feb. 2022 Two laps are enough to addle your brain and unbalance your equilibrium. Howard Walker, Robb Report, 11 Apr. 2023 The system has further affected a political polarization between upstate and down, city and country, that was already well underway before the first shovel of soil was removed, and which appears as a microcosm of the urban/rural polarity that continues to unbalance the nation as a whole. Phillip Lopate, The New York Review of Books, 16 Mar. 2023 Weighing only 23 pounds, this motor won’t unbalance your kayak when fixed to a mount that puts the eight-speed telescoping handle close at hand. Mark Hicks, Field & Stream, 13 Mar. 2023 Puffer somehow came to a stop, and Dr. Niederee eased out of the stirrups so as not to unbalance the horse. Ed Wiseman, Outdoor Life, 13 Feb. 2023
Noun
Some of the factors include poor water quality; animals living in very deep water who detect the shore too late; unbalance and confusion created by Earth’s magnetic field changes; contamination by heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium or zinc; or contamination by compounds such as PCBs and DDTs. Maria Carolina Gallego-Iradi and David Borchelt, Discover Magazine, 15 Nov. 2017 Its automatic unbalance detection helps to minimize vibration during operation, and each cycle takes between 20 to 50 minutes. Camryn Rabideau, Popular Mechanics, 25 Jan. 2023 Directorial impulses that seem designed to ratchet up the audience-pleasing quotients of some of his most famous plays, but that in one way or another unbalance them and diminish their inherent power. Peter Marks, Washington Post, 22 July 2022 The two sides were (and still are) unlikely to come to terms given the unbalance in value. oregonlive, 2 Nov. 2021 There’s a fatal unbalance as Alex spins out, in a minutely detailed personal and professional crisis, over a character depicted in broad and not particularly artful strokes. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 17 Sep. 2021 No, the loss of the horizontal stabilizers would result in an severe aerodynamic unbalance. John Cox, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2021 Components of the gut flora are also involved in digesting certain foodstuffs containing complex carbohydrates, and an unbalance in the relevant microbial mix is implicated in obesity. The Economist, 17 Oct. 2020 For example notions like asymmetry, unbalance, anything which challenges that basic idea of speed for the sake of it, can now be desirable. Luke Leitch, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unbalance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1854, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1855, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unbalance was in 1854

Dictionary Entries Near unbalance

Cite this Entry

“Unbalance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unbalance. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

unbalance

verb
un·​bal·​ance
ˌən-ˈbal-ən(t)s
: to put out of balance

More from Merriam-Webster on unbalance

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