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View synonyms for dwarf

dwarf

[ dwawrf ]

noun

, plural dwarves [dwawrvz], dwarfs.
  1. a person of abnormally small physical stature resulting from a medical or genetic condition, especially a person with achondroplasia or some other disease that produces disproportion or deformation of features and limbs.
  2. an animal or plant much smaller than the average of its kind or species.

    Synonyms: runt

  3. (in folklore) a being in the form of a small, often misshapen man, usually having magic powers.
  4. Astronomy. dwarf star.


adjective

  1. of unusually small stature or size; diminutive.

    Synonyms: tiny, small, miniature

    Antonyms: gigantic, giant

verb (used with object)

  1. to cause to appear or seem small in size, extent, character, etc., as by being much larger or better:

    He dwarfed all his rivals in athletic ability.

  2. to make dwarf or dwarfish; prevent the due development of.

verb (used without object)

  1. to become stunted or smaller.

dwarf

/ dwɔːf /

noun

  1. an abnormally undersized person, esp one with a large head and short arms and legs Compare midget
    1. an animal or plant much below the average height for the species
    2. ( as modifier )

      a dwarf tree

  2. (in folklore) a small ugly manlike creature, often possessing magical powers
  3. astronomy short for dwarf star
“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


verb

  1. to become or cause to become comparatively small in size, importance, etc
  2. tr to stunt the growth of
“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

dwarf

/ dwôrf /

  1. An abnormally small person, often having limbs and features atypically proportioned or formed.
  2. An atypically small animal or plant.
  3. A dwarf star or dwarf galaxy.


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Sensitive Note

Is it OK to say dwarf? See midget.
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Derived Forms

  • ˈdwarfishly, adverb
  • ˈdwarfishness, noun
  • ˈdwarfish, adjective
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Other Words From

  • dwarf·like adjective
  • dwarf·ness noun
  • un·dwarfed adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dwarf1

First recorded before 900; Middle English dwerf, Old English dweorh; replacing Middle English dwerg, Old English dweorg; cognate with Old High German twerg, Old Norse dvergr
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dwarf1

Old English dweorg; related to Old Norse dvergr, Old High German twerc
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Example Sentences

That’s a heck of a number, considering that Tesla posted a loss of $862 million in 2019, and generated a modest $799 million in free cash flow—a figure dwarfed 462 to 1 by its market cap.

From Fortune

It happened on July 14, 2015, when NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew behind dwarf planet Pluto on its way out of the solar system, and there are no plans for it to happen ever again.

A different type, red dwarfs, outnumber all other stars put together.

One international group of scientists is already proposing a mission called Calathus that would collect a sample from Ceres’s Occator crater to help assess how habitable the dwarf planet really is.

Whether or not competitive eaters ever reach that limit, the scale of improvement “completely dwarfs other athletic achievements,” Smoliga says.

Another group of mistletoes, dwarf mistletoes, does things a bit differently.

“Dwarf mistletoe is freaky, freaky, freaky stuff,” says David Watson, an ecologist at Charles Sturt University in Australia.

And he was followed by each one of them until the seventh dwarf looked at his bed and saw Little Snow White lying there asleep.

The city is incredibly violent for its size, on par with metropolises that dwarf the town.

If they succeed, their dismantling of the ACA will dwarf everything else that has happened in our era.

The third night, it being Christmas, this same dwarf returned to the chamber where I slept.

The dwarf who had watched her came back again on his raven followed this time by a crowd of little men.

These dwarf trees are very prevalent in their gardens, and preferred to the most magnificent and shady trees of a natural size.

And having embraced the venerable dwarf, he emerged out of the well roaring with laughter.

Musa was swinging from his saddle, and grasping in no gentle grip the cloak of the dwarf Zeyneb.

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