stilted

But the stilted dialogue and bizarre narrative conceits pale in comparison with some of the sacrilege being committed here.

The tone of the book, which ought to be a simple story, is stilted and rhetorical.

She was evidently infected by the stilted manner of her ridiculous lover.

The attempt to put her thoughts into words always produced a crude and stilted result which she knew instinctively was not poetry.

Their style was elegant and academic, retaining a little of the stilted poetic diction of their classical forerunners.

Clodagh laughed frankly at the stilted compliment, and Asshlin's face brightened perceptibly.