dwarfish

American  

[dwawr-fish] / ˈdwɔr fɪʃ /

adjective

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

   Synonyms:

   runty, stunted, tiny, pygmy

---

Other Word Forms

• dwarfishly adverb
• dwarfishness noun

Etymology

Origin of dwarfish

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 • Feb. 19, 2025

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

From Scientific American • Mar. 3, 2023

He remembered his first meeting with Perry in the interrogation room at Police Headquarters in Las Vegas - the dwarfish boy-man seated in the metal chair, his small booted feet not quite brushing the floor.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2015

Even the show’s most invigorating musical sequences — in which the dwarfish factory workers known as the Oompa-Loompas ply their trade — are notable for the stunt merging of people with puppets.

From New York Times • Jun. 26, 2013

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

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander