dwarfism

D2W4A1R1F4I1S1M3
US/ˈdwɔɹfɪzəm/UK/ˈdwɔːfɪzəm/

noun

The condition of being a dwarf (person of short stature).

Similar
UncommonScrabble 17

Meanings

noundwarfism (countable and uncountable, plural dwarfisms)

plural dwarfisms

  1. countableuncountableThe condition of being a dwarf (person of short stature).

    Sure enough, they are hard to miss. As a non-binary trans drag queen with dwarfism, [Tamm] Reynolds must be in a minority of one.

    2026 March 30, Alex Needham, “‘If I didn’t have dwarfism, I’d probably be quite normcore’: Midgitte Bardot on sex, drag and street harassment”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 31 Mar 2026
    2 more examples

    Studies of disproportionate dwarfisms in animals have revealed the importance of core proteins an sulfation in the development of cartilage.

    1985, J. D. Esko et al., “Animal Cell Mutants Defective in Glycosaminoglycan Biosynthesis”, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, volume 82, number 10, page 3200

    They didn’t find out I had achondroplastic dwarfism until a few months later. “Achondroplasia” is a word that haunted me in my childhood. I never wanted to hear it. It wasn’t who I was. I was not different.

    2014 September 12, Cara Reedy, “My life as a little person”, in CNN, archived from the original on 17 Feb 2016
  2. countableuncountableThe quality of being puny or inferior.

    Childish, childish to the core: that's why they're so good at nursing, they're arrested in a state of permanent intellectual dwarfism themselves!

    2011, Peter Burt, Fables, page 124

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna genetic abnormality resulting in short stature

Similar
Broader
genetic diseasegenetic disordergenetic abnormality
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*dwergaz
  2. Proto-West Germanic*dwerg
  3. Old Englishdweorg
  4. Middle Englishdwergh
  5. Englishdwarf
  6. Englishdwarfism

From dwarf + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan nanisme
  • nanismecondition of being a dwarf
Chinese Mandarin 侏儒症
  • 侏儒症 (zhūrúzhèng)condition of being a dwarf
Esperanto naneco
  • nanecocondition of being a dwarf
Finnish kääpiökasvuisuus
  • kääpiökasvuisuuscondition of being a dwarf
French nanisme
  • nanismecondition of being a dwarf
German Kleinwuchs
  • Kleinwuchscondition of being a dwarf
Greek νανισμός
  • νανισμός (nanismós)condition of being a dwarf
Indonesian dwarfisme
  • dwarfismecondition of being a dwarf
Italian nanismo
  • nanismocondition of being a dwarf
Japanese 小人症
  • 小人症 (kobitoshō)condition of being a dwarf
Norwegian dvergvekst
  • dvergvekstcondition of being a dwarf
Persian کوتولگی
  • کوتولگی (kutulegi)condition of being a dwarf
Polish karłowatość
  • karłowatośćcondition of being a dwarf
Portuguese nanismo
  • nanismocondition of being a dwarf
Romanian nanism
  • nanismcondition of being a dwarf
Russian ка́рликовость
  • ка́рликовость (kárlikovostʹ)condition of being a dwarf
Spanish enanismo
  • enanismocondition of being a dwarf
Swedish kortvuxenhet, dvärgväxt
  • kortvuxenhetcondition of being a dwarf
  • dvärgväxtcondition of being a dwarf
Turkish cücelik
  • cücelikcondition of being a dwarf
Vietnamese hội chứng lùn, chứng thấp lùn
  • hội chứng lùncondition of being a dwarf
  • chứng thấp lùncondition of being a dwarf
Cite this entry
APA

dwarfism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dwarfism

MLA

“dwarfism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dwarfism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dwarfism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dwarfism.

Source: dwarfism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.