out of joint
The phrase "out of joint" can describe both a physical condition of a body part and metaphorical states of disorder or misalignment.
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Definition
B2Anatomy
(technical)Displaced from its normal position, typically referring to a bone or joint.
Example
- After the fall, his shoulder was out of joint and required immediate medical attention.
B2General
(idiomatic)Not functioning properly or in a state of disorder.
Example
- The whole system is out of joint and needs a complete overhaul.
B2Emotional
(idiomatic)Feeling disoriented or frustrated due to unmet expectations or disruptions.
Example
- After the sudden change in plans, she felt completely out of joint.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "out of joint":
out of whackout of stepout of placeout of sortsout of lineout of syncout of tuneout of orderout of squareout of one's timeout of touchout of itoff balanceout of phaseoff keelout of handout of the commonout of gearbroken inoff one's gameout of workout of boundsout of controlout of frame