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⇱ dwarfism - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

dwarfism

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(dwôr′fiz əm)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
dwarf•ism  (dwôr′fiz əm),USA pronunciation n. [Med.]
  1. Pathologythe condition of being a dwarf or dwarfed.
  • dwarf + -ism 1860–65

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
dwarf /dwɔrf/USA pronunciation   n., pl. dwarfs, dwarves /dwɔrvz/USA pronunciation  
n. [countable]
  1. Pathologya person of abnormally small size.
  2. Botany, Zoologyan animal or plant much smaller than the average.
  3. Mythologya small, imaginary being, often represented as a tiny old man, who is skilled as a worker and has magical powers.

adj. [before a noun]
  1. of unusually small stature or size:dwarf marigolds.

v. [~ + object]
  1. to cause to seem small in size, etc., as by being much larger:This current budget crisis dwarfs all our previous troubles.
dwarf•ish, adj. 
dwarf•ism, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
dwarf  (dwôrf ),USA pronunciation n., pl. dwarfs, dwarves, adj., v. 
n. 
  1. Pathologya person of abnormally small stature owing to a pathological condition, esp. one suffering from cretinism or some other disease that produces disproportion or deformation of features and limbs.
  2. Botany, Zoologyan animal or plant much smaller than the average of its kind or species.
  3. Mythology(in folklore) a being in the form of a small, often misshapen and ugly, man, usually having magic powers.
  4. AstronomySee dwarf star. 

adj. 
  1. of unusually small stature or size;
    diminutive.

v.t. 
  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.

v.i. 
  1. to become stunted or smaller.
  • bef. 900; Middle English dwerf, Old English dweorh; replacing Middle English dwerg, Old English dweorg; cognate with Old High German twerg, Old Norse dvergr
dwarf′like′, adj. 
dwarf′ness, n. 
    1. Dwarf, midget, pygmy are terms for a very small person. A dwarf is someone checked in growth or stunted, or in some way not normally formed. A midget (not in technical use) is someone perfect in form and normal in function, but diminutive. A pygmy is properly a member of one of certain small-sized peoples of Africa and Asia, but the word is often used imprecisely to mean dwarf or midget. Dwarf is a term often used to describe very small plants. Pygmy is used to describe very small animals. 2. runt, miniature.
    1. 5. giant.
'dwarfism' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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