Standard Lemma guide

off-the-wall

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • What kind of a harebrained, off-the-wall idea is that?
  • She is a very off-the-wall character.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Of a person's behaviour: greatly inappropriate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • restaurants of bizarre design--one like a hat, another like a rabbit
  • famed for his eccentric spelling
  • a freakish combination of styles
  • his off-the-wall antics
  • the outlandish clothes of teenagers
  • outre and affected stage antics

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bizarre, eccentric, freakish, freaky, flaky, flakey, gonzo, outlandish, outre

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Perhaps from baseball or other games played with a ball, alluding to unpredictable bounces; but compare also bounce off the walls.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 荒诞的 (huāngdàn) — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • Chinese Mandarin: 疯狂的 (fēngkuáng) — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • Dutch: buitenissig — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • French: à côté de la plaque — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • German: schräg — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • German: abgedreht — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • German: schrill — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • German: bizarr — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • Italian: fuori dalle righe — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • Polish: od czapy — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • Russian: чудной (čudnoj) — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • Russian: нелепый (nelepyj) — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • Swedish: uppåt väggarna — wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd
  • German: daneben — greatly inappropriate
  • Russian: ни в какие ворота (ni v kakije vorota) — greatly inappropriate