stilted

[ stil-tid ]

adjective

1. stiffly dignified or formal, as speech or literary style; pompous.

   Synonyms: constrained, stuffy, mannered, wooden

2. Architecture. (of an arch) resting on imposts treated in part as downward continuations of the arch.

stilted

/ ˈstɪltɪd /

adjective

1. (of speech, writing, etc) formal, pompous, or bombastic
2. not flowing continuously or naturally

   stilted conversation

3. architect (of an arch) having vertical piers between the impost and the springing

Derived Forms

• ˈstiltedness, noun
• ˈstiltedly, adverb

Other Words From

• un·stilted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stilted¹

First recorded in 1610–20; stilt + -ed ³

Example Sentences

The conversation is stilted, so I ask him to tell me about his life and I tell him about my job.

From Los Angeles Times

He picked up his scissors and began to cut, hoping that his decades of experience would carry him through the stilted encounters.

From New York Times

The dialogue is stilted, and the accents in the voice acting — particularly Gambit’s confusing, inconsistent Cajun twang — are abominable.

From New York Times

Toossi’s script handles this duality elegantly: The actors speak unaccented, colloquial English when they’re speaking Farsi; when they’re speaking English, their vocabularies scale back, and syntax becomes stilted, indefinite articles get forgotten.

From Seattle Times

Tinubu, by contrast, said of the show: "Twisted and deeply disturbing, this Ripley feels more sinister and stilted than its predecessors, making the show arduous rather than enticing."

From BBC

Related Words

• formal
• labored
• overblown
• pompous
• sonorous