UNBALANCE

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does unbalance mean? 

• UNBALANCE (noun)
  The noun UNBALANCE has 2 senses:

1. a lack of balance or state of disequilibrium

2. a state of mental disturbance and disorientation

  Familiarity information: UNBALANCE used as a noun is rare.

• UNBALANCE (verb)
  The verb UNBALANCE has 2 senses:

1. throw out of balance or equilibrium

2. derange mentally, throw out of mental balance; make insane

  Familiarity information: UNBALANCE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNBALANCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A lack of balance or state of disequilibrium

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

imbalance; instability; unbalance

Context example:

a hormonal imbalance

Hypernyms ("unbalance" is a kind of...):

disequilibrium (loss of equilibrium attributable to an unstable situation in which some forces outweigh others)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A state of mental disturbance and disorientation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

derangement; mental unsoundness; unbalance

Hypernyms ("unbalance" is a kind of...):

insanity (relatively permanent disorder of the mind)

Derivation:

unbalance (derange mentally, throw out of mental balance; make insane)

• UNBALANCE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they unbalance    ... he / she / it unbalances   
Past simple: unbalanced   
Past participle: unbalanced   
-ing form: unbalancing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Throw out of balance or equilibrium

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

The prima donna unbalances the smooth work in our department

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

balance (bring into balance or equilibrium)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Derange mentally, throw out of mental balance; make insane

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

derange; unbalance

Context example:

The death of his parents unbalanced him

Hypernyms (to "unbalance" is one way to...):

craze; madden (cause to go crazy; cause to lose one's mind)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

unbalance (a state of mental disturbance and disorientation)

 Context examples 

Clonal cytogenetic abnormalities are frequently present and usually are unbalanced translocations or deletions of chromosomes 5 and 7.

(Alkylating Agent-Related Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

Was there anything in your letter which might have unbalanced him or induced him to take such a step?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The quantity of unbalanced electricity in a body (either positive or negative) and construed as an excess or deficiency of electrons.

(Charge, NCI Thesaurus)

The occurrence of one or more extra or missing chromosomes leading to an unbalanced chromosome complement, or any chromosome number that is not an exact multiple of the haploid number (which is 46).

(Aneuploidy, NCI Dictionary)

At the end of the red giant phase of a star, these forces become unbalanced.

(Hubble Views Final Stages of a Star’s Life, ESA/NASA)

Placed near a permanent magnet, when a laser was focused onto a fixed spot on the ring, it locally demagnetizes that portion of the ring, creating an unbalanced net force that causes the ring to turn.

(New Materials Developed by Scientists Able to Move in Response to Light, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)