How To Use Stilted In A Sentence

Yes, I know it's rather stilted, nay overwrought, prose.
And what caps this dizzy display is not seriously ordered fugato, let alone a full fugue, but a comically stilted allegro dance in duple rhythm, with octave leaps, mostly in two parts with chordal intrusions.
In this rather archaically written biography, marred by ornate, stilted language and the author's reliance on and citation of endlessly extended passages from his great-great-grandfather's autobiography, James Mellon struggles mightily but fails to make his readers care much for or about Thomas Mellon. Banking On the Future
His delivery is stilted, stiff, uninflected - except when he's permitted to shout, at which point he relaxes and seems to forget to be inhibited.
Marvellous actors have to deliver stilted, arch and laughably clichéd dialogue. Times, Sunday Times

(A hootch is a long, single-story, stilted wooden building of typical Thai rural design. Thud Ridge
In those days, his stilted style, forced delivery, and wonky timing were virtues, reinforcing our sense of his hypothetically heartwarming kidness.
Besides their historical interest Cicero's letters are models of what good letters ought to be -- the expression of the writer's real thoughts and feelings in simple, unstilted language. Early European History
He was taken entirely into her confidence, as will presently be seen, and she even called him in to assist her when she was conducting an elaborate and stilted epistolatory flirtation with Lord Peterborough. Life And Letters Of John Gay (1685-1732)
The New Yorker essayist George Plimpton also remembered that invasion of the Harlem peacocks in their enormous purple Cadillacs: "I'd never seen crowds as fancy, especially the men – felt hatbands and feathered capes, and the stilted shoes, the heels like polished ebony, and many smoking stuff in odd meerschaum pipes. The night Muhammad Ali's legend was reborn – and the party that followed
I shall type in stilted sentences, where humorous. September 5th, 2005
His voice sounded unnatural and stilted, but I barely noticed as I thought about making out with Dmitri against the rough bark of the tree in the forest.
The action scenes were cheesily done, preposterous, and stuck together in a stilted fashion.
That's what comes of trying to satisfy them fellows," one City Father observed, in an indignant and unstilted speech to his colleagues. The Philistines
Like the 1939 classic it adores, Australia is stiltedly comical, sweepingly starry-eyed, and melodramatic in its approach to war and racism. Buzzine » DVD Roundup
You can stay in a grass hut with sunset views for a few pounds and it's wonderful, but for just shy of £50, you get into Bon Ton, a beautiful resort of antique stilted fishermen's houses overlooking a water-lilied lagoon.
Chest out, glowing with pride we return to base with labrador on lap and conversation stilted.
Because of a tradition of teaching English formally through grammar, translation, and literature, spoken usage is often stilted and bookish.
I've been reading some Mexican newspapers on line and on paper lately, and I find that their language is a sort of stilted, circumlocutious style. Mexican Newspaper Language
In such cases, the gait is stilted, that is, there is incomplete advancement of both members and, of course, the period of weight bearing is correspondingly shortened; hence the short strides. Lameness of the Horse Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1
So, skip the stilted villa and make a romantic escape of your own. Times, Sunday Times
A translation that is clumsy or stilted will scream its presence. Times, Sunday Times
Whenever you run across a name carded in this stilted fashion, "A. Thingumy Soandso", you may make up your mind at once that the owner is ashamed of his first name and is trying manfully to live it down and eventually forgive his parents. Man on the Box
She will be staying with the Karen people in their stilted houses in the bamboo and teak jungle where there is no electricity.
“A form of language spoken by millions of people … can surely not be called undignified,” he argued, finding “real dignity … in the colloquial language of the people, not in the stilted artificial style of books.” PEARL BUCK IN CHINA
In both the English dub and subtitles, the dialogue is a bit wordy and stilted, but it's rarely distracting.
I know that generally strained and stilted conversations can't really be described as compelling, but this was a unique situation.
The stilted atmosphere would strike outsiders as disconcertingly weird, but these women are oblivious to the awkwardness.
If the weekend turned out to be a horrible mistake, at least I wouldn't have to endure five hours of strained stilted conversations on the return journey.
An initially stilted conversation is oiled by wine, and the pair open up and discuss their lives, their loves and their politics. Times, Sunday Times
Some of the dialogue is a little stilted, and is the stuff that looks great on paper but rings odd when spoken aloud. Review: Majestic XII: Top Secret/For Majic Eyes Only #1 | Major Spoilers - Comic Book Reviews and News
How could your reviewer let the writer's stilted portrayal go unnoted?
Shy, somewhat stilted conversation is made in the shallow end or the showers. Times, Sunday Times
Where the centre is at a point above the diameter, it is called a stilted arch. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1: Aachen-Assize
The dialogue sounded stilted and unnatural, perhaps because of the translation from the original Russian.
And M. Amis on Nabokov in toto in the prenominate The M.ral Obligation to Be Intelligent, edited by Leon Wieseltier {The style is dated and stilted, but the insights are not. Snarksmith: new york. gossip. art. politics. pop culture. literature. etc.
He recited the words and managed to keep it from sounding hokey or stilted, and the rest of his speech was genuinely inspiring, not just the usual catch-phrases.
Hopefully, as Nintendo localizes this RPG for other territories, the King Arthur-like story is fleshed out not with overly stilted dialogue, but with fast, smart exchanges that keep us interested in the characters. Nintendo Wii 2010 Line Up Part 2 | CurveHouse.com
In both the English dub and subtitles, the dialogue is a bit wordy and stilted, but it's rarely distracting.
This excerpt is a good example of Hemans's style, which is either "false stilted and trashy" or "sweet and elegant," depending on your point of view. Contesting the Heterodoxy: Mrs. Hemans vs. Lord Byron
Michael Lerman at indieWIRE: "Sweet, saccharine and stiltedly hilarious, Eagle vs Shark, though downbeat, hits many of the right notes to reach a wide audience and still feel charmingly small in scale despite the fact that it is co-funded by Miramax. GreenCine Daily: Sundance. Eagle vs Shark.
(See mele beginning _Ko'i maka nui_, p. 228.) _Ko'i honua_ (ko'i ho-nú-a) -- a compound of the causative _ko_, _i_, to utter, and _honua_, the earth; to recite or cantillate in a quiet distinct tone, in distinction from the stilted bombastic manner termed ai-ha'a (p. 58). Unwritten Literature of Hawaii The Sacred Songs of the Hula
The scriptwriter's Danish, right, and because they haven't corrected his dialogue a lot of it sounds really stilted and forced and unnatural.
In a stilted encounter, the political enemies sought to bury their differences, at least in public. Times, Sunday Times
A sofa with a baldachin is forced onto its stilted knees.
It is a stilted glitch house that emerges- and one that maintains a different kind of funk- one that is cut off at every opportunity, one that is not free flowing, but one that demands attention.
The US court documents also lays bare the stiltedly textbook spycraft used by the Russians to identify their own side. Russian spies row raises diplomatic tensions
To at least be dull and pedestrian in a way that seemed natural and unstilted. The Guardian World News
And while you may not swear or shout aloud, your writing slows, words dropping stiff and stilted.
It is a decent hour of telly, although the host trio's terribly stilted conversations appear scripted. Times, Sunday Times
Conversations become stilted and whispered, the drinks were poured stronger, they removed the tarps disguising the twin Brownings and walked the deck with revolvers in their belts.
They have voted for her despite her unsteady singing voice and a stilted stage performance. Times, Sunday Times
You will end up listening to their stilted conversations and trying to guess how long they've been together. Times, Sunday Times
This should be part of the stilted conversation we are having with the rest of the EU. Times, Sunday Times
So, skip the stilted villa and make a romantic escape of your own. Times, Sunday Times
The dialogue sounded stilted and unnatural, perhaps because of the translation from the original Russian.
It was stilted, formal and embarrassing. Times, Sunday Times
Too often, the record sounds forced and stilted, which is unfortunate, since jazz/hip-hop fusion need a musician of Redman's caliber to make it credible in the jazz world. AvaxHome RSS:
Despite the weight of the office, vivacious men such as Churchill, Clarke and Jenkins remained unstilted: in April 1929, the Spectator praised Churchill’s final budget speech both for its content and for its “mesmeric and witty delivery”. Brown is either fleet-footed or indecisive – he cannot be both
He shook my hand somewhat stiltedly, as if he was uncomfortable touching people. Chocolate & Vicodin
unstilted conversation
The conversations between characters, using this Norse style language became stilted and detracted from the story's natural dramatical element. Reader reviews of The Thrall's Tale by Judith Lindbergh.
The 300 year-old half-timbered stilted building in the High Street has been a focal point for the town for many years.
Sadly, in the sober light of day, conversation is stilted. The Sun
Attempts to generate supplementary material to help those coming to it as a medium for the first time, to give some insight into how productions are created, but still evolve, can just seem stilted and off-putting.
The humor, if one may call it that, consists of having Anna and Claire exchanging, in endless one-upmanship, insults whose flowery and stiltedly archaizing language is periodically littered with today's grossest obscenities.
Schizophrenics frequently speak in a stilted, manneristic fashion, and the fluency of their speech may be intermittently disturbed, with paucity of speech, verbigeration (associations repeated in a stereotyped manner, palilalia in the aphasia literature), or perseveration (words or phrases repetitively inserted in the flow of speech). The Neuropsychiatric Guide to Modern Everyday Psychiatry
Marvellous actors have to deliver stilted, arch and laughably clichéd dialogue. Times, Sunday Times
The restaurant guests seem to be a lot of older foreign tourists, so the atmosphere is a little stilted.
He writes in a formal and rather stilted style.
The slightly stilted animation and cheesy synthesized pop music are here in all their glory.
And the motion of these characters is positively stilted and looks like marionettes on strings as they bob and nod about.
I have had a few stilted conversations, feeling a little self-conscious and unsure, but I think with a bit of practice I will improve.
It was as if he were listening to the stilted, notebook style of some grubby private investigator relating a wife's infidelities. THE LAST RAVEN
Populated by some 68 indigenous ethic minorities, its spectacularly rugged countryside is dotted with their villages of stilted huts.
An awkward, stilted speaker, he was unable to enliven his performances with either humorous anecdotes or powerful delivery. Sir Alf: A Major Reappraisal of the Life and Times of England's Greatest Football Manager
He writes in a formal and rather stilted style.
It's a plasticated, stilted show featuring some plasticated, well-tooled songs. Times, Sunday Times
Unfortunately, the equality extends to the stilted acting, melodramatic meanderings, and too-convoluted plot twists of its erotic thriller pedigree.
This stilted comedy of manners lacks a framework around which to dress itself and, subsequently, has the feel and look of a second-rate sketch show to it.
A human scream interrupts our stilted conversation. Times, Sunday Times
While there is much to praise on the whole about Shepherd's language, his diction is elevated to such a level at times that it can feel stilted or in conflict with the subject matter.
He writes in a formal and rather stilted style.
Regrettably, the illuminating ideas in The Economist are often obscured by stilted prose.
Yes, I know it's rather stilted, nay overwrought, prose.
Often a direct translation would be awkward and stilted. Times, Sunday Times
Its conventions are stilted, its plot unsurprising, its characters stock and its folksy songs repetitive. Times, Sunday Times
The more parents are led to believe that they need this kind of prescriptive advice about how to relate to their children, the more stilted and insecure they are going to become in everyday interactions with their kids.
Her dignity became a stilted manner, her social supremacy led her into affectation and sentimental over-refinements; she queened it with her foibles, after the usual fashion of those who allow their courtiers to adore them. Two Poets
The protocol was they shouldn't speak first, which made for stilted conversation. Times, Sunday Times
Tyranowski spoke in a high, piping voice and stilted phrases from books on spirituality; he became a substitute father and mother.
They have voted for her despite her unsteady singing voice and a stilted stage performance. Times, Sunday Times
The lead children don't gel convincingly as a family unit and their performances, on the whole, are stilted.
They scan stiltedly to me, and I find them unpleasant to read. "r u goin 2 b ther?" sounds like "Ur oo going to buh there?" in my head. Gadget help revisited
One of the criticisms I've heard is that the language is stilted and unnatural.
And then when I do just leap in and start writing, I realise how horribly stilted my writing sounds, and that I don't know where I'm going, and that I really should do some more planning.
she answered him stiltedly
In an age of staged, declarative theatre, Stanislavsky's came as a radical response to what was then a stilted performative norm.
There were long periods with little to no dialogue, and what dialogue there was felt stilted and unnatural (but that may have been the intention).
Everyday life currently seems to consist of one long round of awkward, stilted conversations.
Each scene is linked together by a similar theme, perhaps of time or through the soundtrack of one leaking into the next, giving the film an unstilted flow and maintaining audience interest. The Guardian World News
In rehearsals it came across really well, but during filming it was stilted, it was bad, it was really ham.
I used to teach English as a foreign language, in Bolivia, and believe me, I quickly learnt that even people with no English whatsoever quickly get confused by this kind of unnatural, stilted, contextless speech.
The evening got off on an unsteady note as models Iman and Veronica Webb introduced the program as if they were kicking off a school assembly, reading their prepared text stiltedly and managing to mangle the names of a couple of the evening's choreographers. Shrimp Balls and Booty Calls: The ABT Gala: James Wolcott
The intentionally boxy, stilted animation is arresting at first, until one is distracted by the content of the show itself.
The actors bounce around the stage, infusing the occasionally stilted dialogue with raw physicality.
He will experience, together with 60 other fund raisers from across the country, the hospitality of local people in stilted houses in remote villages, as well as Ho Chi Minh city.
Their performances are stilted, unnatural, and weak.
This is partly the result of smart design, as the hotel's business and convention facilities are in a separate building from its guest rooms, but The Ritz-Carlton also benefits from immaculate furnishings and calm, unstilted service. Kuala Lumpur Update
Except when he's imitating children's taunts, the lines are uniformly stilted; they could be broken up with more telling enjambments.
These are often written in stilted language that can be tough going, but such an excruciating level of detail is required to get the desired end result, Rivin said.
Political debate became stilted to the point of ossification. Times, Sunday Times
A handshake, with no thrill of love in it such as might have furnished her palm, at least, some memories to dwell upon; a few stilted words of leave-taking; a halting, meaningless sentence or two about his "botch" of life -- then he walked away from the Wentworth doorstep. Homespun Tales
And while you may not swear or shout aloud, your writing slows, words dropping stiff and stilted.
I know it is intentional, but I found the angels' stilted movements unnatural.
I have spent the past two semesters in the study of these two great dramaturgic critics, and the whole stilted French pseudo-classicism is, as far as I'm concerned, utterly destroyed -- not only in creative art itself but in such manifestations as the boundless folly of the directions for acting which Goethe prescribed in his old age. The Dramatic Works of Gerhart Hauptmann Volume II
The stilted conversation turned to whether horse-drawn carriages were superior to riding on camel, horse or elephant. JOSIAH THE GREAT: The True Story of The Man Who Would Be King
And M. Amis on Nabokov in toto in the prenominate The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent, edited by Leon Wieseltier {The style is dated and stilted, but the insights are not. Snarksmith: new york. gossip. art. politics. pop culture. literature. etc.
What I realised, though, was that while I'm really glad I went and while it was really good to be with other folk and talk, however stiltedly, about Andy, this is something I need to deal with myself, slowly, over time.
Thereafter we began to shed the plantations and move into rainforest punctuated by stilted kampung houses and jackfruit trees.
At first the conversation is quite stilted but after a few drinks we become more relaxed and chat openly. The Sun
I hate stilted, awkward conversations with someone to whom you should be able to talk absolutely naturally - particularly when, not so long ago, you were able to be completely yourself with that person.
His correspondence is in an affected ‘Roman style’ with stilted and archaized diction; his narrative letters, even reported speech, are full of archaisms like ‘thee,’ ‘varlet,’ and ‘durst.’
A massive nude such as Seated Woman is less constrained by social identity than the businessmen, yet her stilted and impassive air suggests not a voluptuary but a studio model.
Seeing the carrots made her realise how hungry she had become during the preparations for the journey, and she walked rather stiltedly out of the hot, stuffy kitchen.
It was stilted, formal and embarrassing. Times, Sunday Times
‘Good meeting you,’ he said stiltedly through his self conscious smile.
Citizens bumble past the plywooded remains of the mall in the stilted, balance-upset walk of old people trying Walkmans for the first time, their eyes blank and deinstitutionalized. Shampoo Planet
Her voice sounded different than usual, Doug noticed, more rhythmic, less natural, and there was something about her words that seemed stiltedly formal, which did not ring true. Baby Games
The stilted conversation turned to whether horse-drawn carriages were superior to riding on camel, horse or elephant. JOSIAH THE GREAT: The True Story of The Man Who Would Be King
The frozen, stilted conversations with Burmese are all too real. Times, Sunday Times
I topped up her beaker a few times and we made an effort at conversation, but it was forced and stilted.
I found the prosed clipped, but I don't remember finging it literal or stilted. Meet the man behind crime fiction's most despicable character
You will end up listening to their stilted conversations and trying to guess how long they've been together. Times, Sunday Times
Speaking of the script, Mr. Nichols and Jon Robin Baitz have subjected "The Country Girl" to an extensive rewrite job, but the results still sound as stilted as ever -- Odets, too, was over the hill by 1950 -- and many of the play's clunkiest lines have been left inexplicably intact: "Listen to him ... he's ready to give that dark sterling quality to the best available parts. On Broadway, Bright Stars and Dim Casting
(The term academe seems stilted to me, but maybe that's me.) CHE > Latest news
a stilted letter of acknowledgment
Somewhere between Warhol and ‘Laugh-In’, their stark pastels recreate a time that might have sort of existed but probably didn't, when everyone wore cardigans and comb-overs; danced stiltedly to fey pop music; read Marx for pleasure.
It was a little like John Kerry's anti-Vietnam protest at the Capitol in 1971, utilizing the most stilted Pentagonese jargon to describe demonstrations "athwart hostile infiltration" of the Congress, and so forth. Conrad Black: My Manifesto For the Occupy Movement
A human scream interrupts our stilted conversation. Times, Sunday Times
An initially stilted conversation is oiled by wine, and the pair open up and discuss their lives, loves and politics. Times, Sunday Times
If by good you mean the author manages to keep you turning the pages even though his writing is stilted and the characters are like stick figures, then yes, it was good.
At first the conversation is quite stilted but after a few drinks we become more relaxed and chat openly. The Sun
KB is preferable to BK, because it’s less pretentious, less formal, less stilted. What’s in a name… again… « Write Anything
The show works best when it gives the illusion of spontaneity, but there is the occasional awkward, stilted conversation that is obviously neither natural nor scripted.
Dissatisfied with the stilted term thesaurus, he cast about for the mot juste and happily came up with promptory (derived from a Medieval Latin word meaning ` storehouse, repository ') as a better name for a book constructed for prompt reference and to prompt those who search for the right word. VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VIII No 3
An initially stilted conversation is oiled by wine, and the pair open up and discuss their lives, loves and politics. Times, Sunday Times
Severely affected birds may have a marked bowing of the tibia, be reluctant to move, and have a stilted gait.
The 40 casitas are inspired by native houses, and my favorite is the last one, a stilted hillside perch overlooking lush vegetation, gleaming white sand beaches and the Sulu Sea.
Much of what passes for architectural writing, particularly in academia, is turgid and stilted.
Often a direct translation would be awkward and stilted. Times, Sunday Times
The dialogue is stilted, terse and bare , like the syncopated sparks of sharpening knives.
He was breathy, his voice quavered, he stumbled over words, he was stilted and uncomfortable.
The protocol was they shouldn't speak first, which made for stilted conversation. Times, Sunday Times
The choreography is stilted and clumsy and could have been a great deal more imaginative.
The dialogue sounded stilted and unnatural, perhaps because of the translation from the original Russian.
The writing is full of exposition and flowery, stilted language that may in fact be historically accurate but in large measure prevents the characters from coming to life.
In a stilted manner, he replied, ‘I didn't do too badly.’
House of the Spirits was stilted and ponderous and written with a poor command of the nuances of English.
An initially stilted conversation is oiled by wine, and the pair open up and discuss their lives, their loves and their politics. Times, Sunday Times
The graphics in the 2D sections of the game don't look too bad, although some of the animations are pretty stilted.
Moreover, his public image was balanced somewhere between the effete decadence of a dandy and the stilted manners of an upper-class gentleman.
Here is a good deal that is biographical and autobiographical in its nature; here is the story of her mother's life told with rare graciousness and affection, in language which is never without eloquence; and even when the dialogue makes you feel that the real characters never talked as they do in this monograph, it is still unstilted and somehow really convincing. The Moccasin Maker
His delivery was stilted and occasionally stumbling.
This record aims to unsettle and carries off its stilted and discordant sound without appearing laboured. The Sun
This should be part of the stilted conversation we are having with the rest of the EU. Times, Sunday Times
What we saw were videos with abrupt transitions, missing footage, stilted narration, and no background music.
There were Victorian songs of stilted enthusiasm for the innocence and clear sunny skies of the new country, hymned in the English art song idiom.
I did however come across this disturbing bit of video where the entire Adscam caucus tries to frighten endangered animals by clapping as loudly and stiltedly as possible kiss my adverbs bitches. Archive 2008-09-01
Although Mandy told the girls later that the lunch had ‘been very romantic’, the two-hour date saw the two behaving self consciously and chatting in a stilted manner.
And while you may not swear or shout aloud, your writing slows, words dropping stiff and stilted.
Perhaps the treatment of reformers like Mirdamadi and Abdi explains why some of the gerogan-girha tend to speak in stilted euphemisms, even when they are discussing events now a quarter of a century old. Among the Hostage-Takers
Sometimes choosing the nominative case sounds so formal as to be absurdly stilted. Times, Sunday Times
An awkward, stilted speaker, he was unable to enliven his performances with either humorous anecdotes or powerful delivery. Sir Alf: A Major Reappraisal of the Life and Times of England's Greatest Football Manager
The acting in Blackboard is of the stilted, artificial kind that seems so jarring to the modern viewer.
It is a decent hour of telly, although the host trio's terribly stilted conversations appear scripted. Times, Sunday Times
But there's a certain ... stilted character to them that I came to realize was the emergent property of all those swirling styles and ideas, cross-pollinating and recombining outside of the Anglo Bubble. SFWA European Hall of Fame: a chance to read sf from outside of the Anglo Bubble - Boing Boing
Shy, somewhat stilted conversation is made in the shallow end or the showers. Times, Sunday Times
Sadly, in the sober light of day, conversation is stilted. The Sun
Instead of dying, he thrashes about a bit, then reaches with stilted slowness for his inner breast-pocket.
Sweeping back his unruly fringe on a breezy hotel terrace, the burly White House veteran still has the demeanour of a veteran political campaigner, steely and unyielding behind his folksy southern manners and slightly stilted bonhomie.
A translation that is clumsy or stilted will scream its presence. Times, Sunday Times
A human scream interrupts our stilted conversation. Times, Sunday Times
The production cries out for a better translation than the uncredited one that veers between stilted and colloquial.
There were long periods with little to no dialogue, and what dialogue there was felt stilted and unnatural (but that may have been the intention).
Taking a Quaker stewardship view of nature, Douglas loved creatures of the wild, from the low-slung sand crab to the stilted seabird.
when people try to correct their speech they develop a stilted pronunciation
It doesn't take glamor men like Wahlberg and Leguizamo and totally deglamorize and have them sounding stilted and false like this was a high school play and the first five choices for the lead all got suspended for smoking pot in the principal's office. The Happening
The frozen, stilted conversations with Burmese are all too real. Times, Sunday Times
The stilted, awkward conversation of the first ten minutes - as each circles, trying to discover the other's motives for the meeting - quickly gives way to a horribly compelling, recaptured intimacy.
I turned off after forty five minutes, bored by the two-dimensional characters and stilted dialogue.
The writing is full of exposition and flowery, stilted language that may in fact be historically accurate but in large measure prevents the characters from coming to life.
Formerly it was stilted, boring, narrow in approach and poorly laid out.
An aperture in the back wall is incised in the form of an unmoulded stilted arch; there is one low table round which diners slump on leather pouffes; the other tables are covered in cloths of thick striped material.
A stilted voice sai d in English: `This airport is under military control and all unauthorized aircraft will be shot. SEIZE THE RECKLESS WIND
Some of the dialogue is delivered in a stilted manner, and some of the plot devices a bit forced.
If you look at their NASA Message Construct all you get are partial, generic ideas contained in stilted sentences - including what to say in a proverbial "Elevator Speech" with someone (I am guessing here) who wants to know what NASA does. The Consequences of Foot-in-Mouth - NASA Watch
Alix, the unstilted, widened her eyes, and opened her mouth in unaffected astonishment. Sisters

How To Use Stilted In A Sentence

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