dwarfish

[dwawr-fish]

adjective

1. like a dwarf, especially in being abnormally small; diminutive.

   Synonyms: runty, stunted, tiny, pygmy

Other Word Forms

• dwarfishly adverb
• dwarfishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dwarfish¹

First recorded in 1555–65; dwarf + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

“Now does he feel his title/Hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe/Upon a dwarfish thief,” a thane observes in the final act.

From Los Angeles Times

“Now does he feel his title/ Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe/ upon a dwarfish thief.”

From Salon

Across eons, large galaxies gradually assembled via countless collisions of their dwarfish kin, scientists presume.

From Scientific American

Before them, at a long stone table, a dwarfish figure with a bristling yellow beard glared at the warriors.

From Literature

Letters were multiplied by symbols, crowded into parentheses, and set upon by dwarfish numbers drawn at odd angles.

From Literature