illtimed

Illtimed is an adjective used to describe an action, remark, or event that occurs at an inappropriate or awkward moment, often causing embarrassment, disruption, or unintended consequences. The word emphasizes faulty timing rather than the action itself.

It is commonly used across journalism, criticism, entertainment, and everyday speech. A remark can be illtimed if it interrupts social dynamics or offends someone present. Examples include an illtimed joke at a funeral or an illtimed announcement during a crisis. The standard form is ill-timed with a hyphen when used before a noun (for example, an ill-timed interruption); some writers also encounter the closed form illtimed, though hyphenation is generally preferred in modern usage.

Origin and usage notes: The construction uses the ill- prefix meaning badly and the adjective timed from time; together they denote poor timing. The term is portable across varieties of English and tends to carry a negative evaluative tone, reflecting social norms about appropriate moments.

See also: inopportune, untimely, mis-timed.