Meanings
prepositional phrase
alternative off-guard
- Not vigilant; unprepared; inattentive.
His sudden appearance at the office caught her completely off guard.
Antonyms: on guard
- Unexpectedly or by surprise.
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseNot vigilant; unprepared; inattentive.
Opposite
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivenot prepared or vigilant
Similar
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Finnish yllättävästi, yllättäen
- yllättävästiunexpectedly or by surprise
- yllättäenunexpectedly or by surprise
German unvorbereitet, unerwartet
- unvorbereitetunprepared
- unerwartetunexpectedly or by surprise
- überraschendunexpectedly or by surprise
Italian alla sprovvista
- alla sprovvistaunprepared
Russian враспло́х, неожи́данно
- враспло́х (vrasplóx)unexpectedly or by surprise
- неожи́данно (neožídanno)unexpectedly or by surprise
Spanish con la guardia abajo/baja, desprevenido
- con la guardia abajo/bajaunprepared
- desprevenidounprepared
- por sorpresaunprepared
- con la guardia abajo/bajaunexpectedly or by surprise
- desprevenidounexpectedly or by surprise
- por sorpresaunexpectedly or by surprise
Turkish hazırlıksız, hazırlıksız
- hazırlıksızunprepared
- hazırlıksızunexpectedly or by surprise
Cite this entry
APA
off guard. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20guard
MLA
“off guard.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20guard. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “off guard,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20guard.
Source: off guard on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.