Stilted (Adjective)
Meaning
Artificially formal; "that artificial humility that her husband hated"; "contrived coyness"; "a stilted letter of acknowledgment"; "when people try to correct their speech they develop a stilted pronunciation".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The conversation felt stilted after the argument, with both parties struggling to find something to say.
- Her speech was riddled with awkward pauses, giving the impression of a stilted presentation.
- The new employee's overly formal emails came across as stilted to her colleagues.
- In an attempt to impress, he adopted a stilted accent that made him sound ridiculous.
- After rehearsing the lines a million times, the actor's delivery still sounded stilted and lacked conviction.