Lilliputian
Americanadjective
-
extremely small; tiny; diminutive.
-
petty; trivial.
Our worries are Lilliputian when compared with those of people whose nations are at war.
noun
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an inhabitant of Lilliput.
-
a very small person.
-
a person who is narrow or petty in outlook.
noun
adjective
-
tiny; very small
-
petty or trivial
Etymology
Origin of Lilliputian
Explanation
Something that's lilliputian is extremely small, like the lilliputian tables and chairs that might surprise you when you visit your kindergarten classroom years later. The word lilliputian comes from Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel, Gulliver's Travels. Lilliput is the name of a fictional island whose people, the Lilliputians, stand only about six inches high. In addition to acting as an adjective to describe something that is very small — like the lilliputian cups and plates in a child's doll house — lilliputian can also be a noun that refers to extremely small people.
Vocabulary lists containing lilliputian
100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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It's the Little Things: Synonyms for "Small"
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My Sister's Keeper
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I’m no Luddite, though I did cling to my BlackBerry, with its winning Lilliputian keyboard, surrendering reluctantly to an iPhone only when the BlackBerry became extinct.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
The visual goal, she reminded us: “It’s about being in Lilliputian land — about making your trough believable, a miniature landscape.”
From Seattle Times • Aug. 9, 2023
Crab Louie, created with seafood from the Chesapeake and sauced with what tastes like Thousand Island dressing, is stuffed into fragile, Lilliputian cones with creamy avocado mousse.
From Washington Post • Mar. 10, 2023
For his Lilliputian rivals, the new conglomerate was a nightmare.
From New York Times • Jun. 27, 2022
“I’m very sensitive. My feelings get hurt very easily. So you can tell the Lilliputian that I am not going to move until he apologizes.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
