stilted
Americanadjective
-
stiffly dignified or formal, as speech or literary style; pompous.
- Synonyms:
- constrained, stuffy, mannered, wooden
-
Architecture. (of an arch) resting on imposts treated in part as downward continuations of the arch.
adjective
-
(of speech, writing, etc) formal, pompous, or bombastic
-
not flowing continuously or naturally
stilted conversation
-
architect (of an arch) having vertical piers between the impost and the springing
Other Word Forms
- stiltedly adverb
- stiltedness noun
- unstilted adjective
Etymology
Origin of stilted
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The malevolent attention paid to Black’s stilted pop song reached levels no internet phenomenon had ever encountered.
From Salon
Her melodramatic sorrow at her stilted relationship with Alexis is palpable even as she mourns her daughter’s unwillingness to join her on a wine tasting tour in France . . . when Alexis was seven.
From Salon
We held stilted conversation the rest of the drive back to L.A.
From Los Angeles Times
There’s a stilted quality to the conversation as they discuss their eccentric, inscrutable dad.
From Los Angeles Times
Too stilted in phrasing to our modern poll-tested ears, it was nevertheless, as she said in the video of her retirement announcement, “prophetic.”
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
