unsquare
Lacking right angles
Unsquare means to make something no longer square—either literally removing right angles or figuratively disrupting conventional order.
The word appears most famously in Dave Brubeck's "Unsquare Dance," which uses irregular 7/4 time to subvert the predictable rhythms of traditional square dancing.
The renovation unsquared the boxy rooms with angled walls.
Rhythmically accent-shifted
- bebopFast, complex jazz style
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- blue noteFlatted pitch in jazz
- swingSuspended recreational seat
polyrhythm · cool jazz · rhythmic · offbeat · improvised · free-form · spontaneous · modal
Unequally balanced
- skewedAsymmetrically shifted
- unevenNot smooth or balanced
- irregularDeviating from normal patterns
- off-centerNot at the midpoint
tilted · slanted · askew · crooked · angled · oblique · warped · distorted
Pleasantly strange or unusual
- quirkyIdiosyncratically unusual
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
- unorthodoxContrary to accepted practice
- experimentalTesting new methods
alternative · edgy · innovative · original · progressive · funky · outlandish · idiosyncratic
Elongated in one direction
- rectangularFour right angles
- circularForming a closed curve
- triangularThree-cornered in form
- rhomboidTilted parallelogram, unequal sides
trapezoidal · polygonal · ovoid · curved · rounded · amorphous · freeform · organic
Authority defier
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- iconoclastAttacker of cherished beliefs
- bohemianArtistic nonconformist type
- contrarianChronic majority-opposer
individualist · dissenter · freethinker · outsider · renegade · eccentric · heretic · radical
syncopated
Rhythmically accent-shifted
- bebopFast, complex jazz style
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- blue noteFlatted pitch in jazz
swing · polyrhythm · cool jazz · rhythmic · offbeat · improvised · free-form · spontaneous · modal
lopsided
Unequally balanced
off-center · tilted · slanted · askew · crooked · angled · oblique · warped · distorted · misshapen
offbeat
Pleasantly strange or unusual
- quirkyIdiosyncratically unusual
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
- unorthodoxContrary to accepted practice
experimental · alternative · edgy · innovative · original · progressive · funky · outlandish · idiosyncratic · unusual
oblong
Elongated in one direction
- rectangularFour right angles
- circularForming a closed curve
- triangularThree-cornered in form
rhomboid · trapezoidal · polygonal · ovoid · curved · rounded · amorphous · freeform · organic · irregular
rebel
Authority defier
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- iconoclastAttacker of cherished beliefs
- bohemianArtistic nonconformist type
contrarian · individualist · dissenter · freethinker · outsider · renegade · eccentric · heretic · radical · dissident
square, squares, squarely, squared, squaring, squarer, squareness, squarish, square-rigged