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"
contrived by art rather than nature; "artificial flowers"; "artificial flavoring"; "an artificial diamond"; "artificial fibers"; "artificial sweeteners"
not arising from natural growth or characterized by vital processes
excessively elaborate or showily expressed; "a writer of empurpled literature"; "many purple passages"; "speech embellished with classical quotations"; "an over-embellished story of the fish that got away"
a light midafternoon meal of tea and sandwiches or cakes; "an Englishman would interrupt a war to have his afternoon tea"
dried leaves of the tea shrub; used to make tea; "the store shelves held many different kinds of tea"; "they threw the tea into Boston harbor"
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water; "iced tea is a cooling drink"
a reception or party at which tea is served; "we met at the Dean's tea for newcomers"
a tropical evergreen shrub or small tree extensively cultivated in e.g. China and Japan and India; source of tea leaves; "tea has fragrant white flowers"
eager to investigate and learn or learn more (sometimes about others' concerns); "a curious child is a teacher's delight"; "a trap door that made me curious"; "curious investigators"; "traffic was slowed by curious rubberneckers"; "curious about the neighbor's doings"
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected; "a curious hybrid accent"; "her speech has a funny twang"; "they have some funny ideas about war"; "had an odd name"; "the peculiar aromatic odor of cloves"; "something definitely queer about this town"; "what a rum fellow"; "singular behavior"
having curiosity aroused; eagerly interested in learning more; "a trap door that made me curious"
a crosspiece spreading the gunnels of a boat; used as a seat in a rowboat
hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; "What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent"
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
prepare (a metal) for soldering or brazing by applying a thin layer of solder to the surface