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dwarf

[dwawrf]

noun

a person of abnormally small stature owing to a pathological condition, especially one suffering from cretinism or some other disease that produces disproportion or deformation of features and limbs.

an animal or plant much smaller than the average of its kind or species.

(in folklore) a being in the form of a small, often misshapen and ugly, man, usually having magic powers.

Astronomy. dwarf star.

adjective

of unusually small stature or size; diminutive.

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Dwarf is always a great word to know.

So is galaxy. Does it mean:

the particular appearance presented by the moon or a planet at a given time

a large system of stars held together by mutual gravitation and isolated from similar systems by vast regions of space

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verb (used with object)

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.

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

verb (used without object)

to become stunted or smaller.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English dwerf, Old English dweorh; replacing Middle English dwerg, Old English dweorg; cognate with Old High German twerg, Old Norse dvergr

Related forms

dwarf·like, adjective

dwarf·ness, noun

un·dwarfed, adjective

Synonyms
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.

Antonyms
1, 5. giant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To dwarf

Example Sentences

Big was beautiful for geraniums until indoor gardeners were introduced to the world of dwarf geraniums.

The flower shop near me has some nice dwarf lemon trees.

It will bring each of them one-off costs in the tens of millions, but the savings over time will dwarf the initial outlay.

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Big was beautiful for geraniums until indoor gardeners were introduced to the world of dwarf geraniums.

The flower shop near me has some nice dwarf lemon trees.

It will bring each of them one-off costs in the tens of millions, but the savings over time will dwarf the initial outlay.

Small clusters of black and white spruce with alder, willow, and dwarf birch are supported in the driest soil areas.

Plants that relied at times mostly on the dim red dwarf might need light from all across the visible spectrum.

In current dollars, these amounts may well dwarf any other financial crisis in history.

Learn to identify dwarf citrus, plant it, and choose the right variety for your climate.

And now it's a dying star, the formation of a white dwarf perhaps leading to our own sonic black hole.

Low-maintenance plants, and dwarf ones, are the darlings of the growers.

And their numbers dwarf other categories of special admits.

The amounts awarded through share options in recent years dwarf those paid out by golden parachutes or by any other mechanism.

Overall, he said, three minutes would be the fastest a binary white dwarf system could get.

When our sun comes to its ending in five billion years or so, it will fade into a quiescent white dwarf.

Move potted genetic dwarf peaches and nectarines to a covered location in rainy weather.

One interview involves a dwarf couple with their average-sized child.

We also had four dwarf arbor vitaes that survived their relocation, and put those in along one corner as a privacy hedge.

The differences between them dwarf the commonalities.

The advances in the past ten months or the next ten months will dwarf the past decade.

Plant three large green basils toward the rear, two purple basils toward the center, and three dwarf basils in front.

As wide as a river, it has sprawling four-way intersections that dwarf the twinkling traffic lights above.

One of the biggest problems is pensions, which will dwarf the cost of the recent bank bail-out.

The new addition, which isn't yet named, brings the dwarf planet's number of known satellites to four.

Compact dwarf or cushion types make tidy edgings, mounds of color in rock gardens, good container plants.

In the middle of a red giant is the seed of a white dwarf.

Amounts that dwarf the current situation in the gulf.

Most novae are blue and occur when material on a white dwarf star explodes.

For dwarf dahlias, sow seed in place after soil is warm, or buy and plant started seedlings from the nursery.

Gates will face challenges that dwarf those he saw in the final years of the cold war.

Tea partiers, who are against all tax hikes dwarf them.

Indonesia has a dwarf variety that is especially easy to harvest.

Flowers and plants are larger than miniature dwarf bearded irises.

After all, our tomatoes, zucchini and dwarf fruit trees also need insect pollinators.

Far from levelling the playing field, these new subsidies dwarf the old ones:.

It projects that food demand will substantially dwarf available supply.

The ornamental bananas described here include tree-size, medium-size, and dwarf plants.

One bird-headed dwarf lived to be seventy-five years old.

T hese feather palms are mostly large trees, though the following list includes one dwarf.

Numerous hybrids are available now in all sorts of stature from giant tall to almost dwarf.

Dwarf forms are also available add to my plant list.

Big, a disadvantaged dwarf who zips around in his motorized wheelchair being nasty and sarcastic to everyone.

The entry garden leads visitors through beds of dwarf conifers, perennials, and shrubs.

The new planet is only the second one found around a red dwarf.

If you grow dwarf varieties, you can control the infection by.

Dwarf conifers come with gold, chartreuse, or deep green needles.

Several named varieties selected for good leaf color or dwarf form are sold add to my plant list.

Dwarf with tiny leaves that emerge bluish, take on rust tones.

Dwarf or miniature florists' cyclamens are replicas of standards with half- or three-quarter-size leaves and blossoms.

Many hybrids are available, including dwarf varieties and ones with more spreading habits add to my plant list.

Dwarf plant with small, narrow, chocolate-brown leaves.

The first two are in a dwarf plum and the third is in an orange.

Streamline your pots by planting a single dwarf shrub in a shapely contemporary container–the best choice for a tight space.

Skeletons such as those of a teenage dwarf and a girl with malformed bones were found buried alongside able-bodied dead.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

dwarf (dwɔːf)

—n , pl dwarfs, dwarves
1.	Compare midget an abnormally undersized person, esp one with a large head and short arms and legs
2.	a. an animal or plant much below the average height for the species
	b. (as modifier): a dwarf tree
3.	(in folklore) a small ugly manlike creature, often possessing magical powers
4.	astronomy short for dwarf star

—vb
5.	to become or cause to become comparatively small in size, importance, etc
6.	(tr) to stunt the growth of

[Old English dweorg; related to Old Norse dvergr, Old High German twerc]

'dwarfish

—*adj*

'dwarfishly

—*adv*

'dwarfishness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

dwarf

O.E. dweorh, from P.Gmc. *dweraz, from PIE *dhwergwhos "something tiny." The mythological sense is from Ger., 1770. The verb meaning "to render dwarfish" is from 1620s; that of "to cause to look small" is from 1850. Related: Dwarfed; dwarfing. The shift of the O.E. guttural at the end of the word to

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modern -f is typical (cf. enough, draft). O.E. plural dweorgas became M.E. dwarrows, later leveled down to dwarfs. The use of dwarves for the legendary race was popularized by J.R.R. Tolkien.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

dwarf (dwôrf)
n. pl. dwarfs or dwarves (dwôrvz)
An abnormally small person, often having limbs and features not properly proportioned or formed.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

dwarf (dwôrf) Pronunciation Key

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

Easton

Bible Dictionary

Dwarf definition

a lean or emaciated person (Lev. 21:20).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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