stilted

[stil-tid]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stilted ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

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

Origin of stilted

First recorded in 1610–20; stilt + -ed³

Related formsun·stilt·ed, adjective

Synonyms for stilted

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stilted ON THESAURUS.COM

1. wooden, mannered, stuffy, constrained.

stilt

[stilt]

noun

one of two poles, each with a support for the foot at some distance above the bottom end, enabling the wearer to walk with his or her feet above the ground.

one of several posts supporting a structure built above the surface of land or water.

Ceramics. a three-armed support for an object being fired.

any of several white-and-black wading birds, especially Cladorhynchus leucocephalus and Himantopus himantopus, having long, bright pink legs and a long, slender black bill.

British Dialect.

a plow handle.
a crutch.

verb (used with object)

to raise on or as if on stilts.

Origin of stilt

1275–1325; Middle English stilte; cognate with Low German stilte pole, German Stelze

Related formsstilt·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for stilted

labored, pompous, overblown, sonorous, formal, affected, angular, aureate, bombastic, decorous, egotistic, flowery, forced, genteel, grandiloquent, high-flown, inflated, magniloquent, mincing, pedantic

Examples from the Web for stilted

Contemporary Examples of stilted

It is glorious in its stilted awkwardness, and should be cherished.
Rosie Returns to 'The View': A Bold, Intelligent, and Sometimes Boring Premiere
Kevin Fallon
September 15, 2014
Complete with stilted dialogue and cringe-worthy background music, the whole thing would be laughable were it not so terrifying.
Outlandish Work Training Videos: Alabama’s Mass Shooting Film & More
Kevin Fallon
January 3, 2013
As a debate, this was a sideshow, 90 minutes of stilted silliness, an intermission interrupting the real deal.
Joe Biden Beat Paul Ryan, But Veep Debate Was a Mediocre Snoozefest
Tunku Varadarajan
October 12, 2012
The result is nothing extraordinary, but feels awkward and stilted.
TV Preview: Snap Judgments of 2012-13’s New Shows
Jace Lacob, Maria Elena Fernandez
June 12, 2012
But the stilted dialogue and bizarre narrative conceits pale in comparison with some of the sacrilege being committed here.
Wonder Woman: A Sneak Peek at David E. Kelley's Script
Jace Lacob
February 2, 2011

Historical Examples of stilted

No, my stilted, stiff-laigged sheep of the mountain, we ain't got no ice.'
Faro Nell and Her Friends
Alfred Henry Lewis
She was evidently infected by the stilted manner of her ridiculous lover.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
The arches are cusped like the windows, but are stilted and segmental.
Portuguese Architecture
Walter Crum Watson
The letter of congratulation must be natural, not stilted, and must be sincere.
How to Write Letters (Formerly The Book of Letters)
Mary Owens Crowther
He is not nearly so composed as Shadwell, and his voice has a strange and stilted sound.
Molly Bawn
Margaret Wolfe Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for stilted

stilted

adjective

(of speech, writing, etc) formal, pompous, or bombastic

not flowing continuously or naturallystilted conversation

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

Derived Formsstiltedly, adverbstiltedness, noun

stilt

noun

either of a pair of two long poles with footrests on which a person stands and walks, as used by circus clowns

a long post or column that is used with others to support a building above ground level

any of several shore birds of the genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus, similar to the avocets but having a straight bill

verb

(tr) to raise or place on or as if on stilts

Word Origin for stilt

C14 (in the sense: crutch, handle of a plough): related to Low German stilte pole, Norwegian stilta

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stilted

stilt

early 14c., "a crutch," from Proto-Germanic *steltijon (cf. Middle Low German, Middle Dutch stelte "stilt," Old High German stelza "plow handle, crutch"), from PIE root *stel- "to put, stand" (see stall (n.1)). Application to "wooden poles for walking across marshy ground, etc." is from mid-15c. Meaning "one of the posts on which a building is raised from the ground" is first attested 1690s. Stilted in the figurative sense of "pompous, stuffy" is first recorded 1820.