at odds

at odds

English

Pronunciation

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Prepositional phrase

at odds

1. (idiomatic) In disagreement; conflicting.

   The witness' statement seems to be at odds with the evidence, not a good sign for the prosecutor.

   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iii]:

     He flashes into one gross crime or other
     That sets us all at odds.

   • 1722 (indicated as 1721), [Daniel Defoe], The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. […], 3rd edition, London: […] W[illiam Rufus] Chetwood, […]; and T. Edlin, […]; W[illiam] Mears, […]; J. Brotherton, […]; C. King, and J. Stags, […], published 1722, OCLC 745118774, page 186:

     I […] began to be at odds with myself whether to be glad or sorry […]

   • 1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, chapter 18, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, OCLC 977517776, page 237:

     In the passage they encountered Mr. Mould the undertaker: a little elderly gentleman, bald, and in a suit of black; with a note-book in his hand, a massive gold watch-chain dangling from his fob, and a face in which a queer attempt at melancholy was at odds with a smirk of satisfaction […]

   • 1940, Zane Grey, 30,000 on the Hoof, New York: Pocket Book, 1977, Chapter 1, p. 8,

     At Pleasant Valley sheepmen and cattlemen were at odds over the grazing.

   • 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, OCLC 1261299044, PC, scene: Kett: Primus Codex entry:

     Evidence now proves that the Primus and the Archon are at odds. Investigations show that the Primus disapproves of the Archon's single-minded interest in Remnant technology, believing it to be a distraction from the kett's attempts to conquer Heleus.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:at odds.

Translations

in disagreement; conflicting

Chinese: Mandarin: 大相逕庭／大相迳庭 (zh) (dàxiāngjìngtíng), 不和 (zh) (bùhé), 不相稱／不相称 (bù xiāngchèn), 不一致 (bù yīzhì) Finnish: ristiriidassa French: en conflit Hungarian: hadilábon áll, ellentmond (hu), eltér (hu) Italian: in conflitto (it), in contrasto (it), in disaccordo (it) Polish: w sprzeczności, w niezgodzie, w konflikcie, na bakier (pl) Russian: не в лада́х (ne v ladáx, literally “not in harmony”) Spanish: en conflicto, en desacuerdo Welsh: anghytûn (cy)

See also

• at cross-purposes
• at loggerheads
• at sixes and sevens
• at variance
• on the outs