dwarf
gb/dwˈɔɹf/ us/dwˈɔɹf/
B1
Englisch
~ 7900
Bedeutungen
0 Bedeutungen
Nomen
B2
entity
1
person with medically short stature
A person who is much shorter than most adults because of a medical condition called dwarfism.
Verwendungsmuster:
[someone] is a dwarf
Häufiger Fehler:
Learners often do not realize that calling someone "a dwarf" can sound rude or outdated. In modern English, it is usually better to say "a person with dwarfism" or "a little person" if you are talking about real people, and keep "dwarf" for medical or fantasy contexts. Never use the word "midget", which is considered very offensive.
Synonyme
little person (More polite and widely preferred in modern English when talking about someone with dwarfism.)
Antonyme
average-height person (Refers to someone whose height is not unusually short or tall.)
Wortverbindungen
a person with dwarfism
|born a dwarf
|a dwarf actor
|people with dwarfism
|little people and dwarfs
Themen
people
|health
|body
Beispiele
- Many people with dwarfism prefer not to be called a dwarf but a person with dwarfism.
- The documentary follows a dwarf who works as a professional actor in Hollywood.
- He was born a dwarf due to a rare genetic condition and grew up in a very supportive family.
Beispiele für Lernende
- Her brother is a dwarf and uses a small car made for him.
- Some people with dwarfism say the word "dwarf" feels rude.
- It is better to say "a person with dwarfism" than just "a dwarf".
Nomen
B1
entity
2
short, strong character in fantasy
A short, strong person in fantasy stories or games, usually with a beard and skill in mining or metal work.
Verwendungsmuster:
a dwarf from [a place/story]
Häufiger Fehler:
Learners sometimes mix up the medical meaning and the fantasy meaning. When you say "a dwarf" in a story or game, it is clear you mean a fantasy race. When you talk about real people, use "person with dwarfism" or "little person" instead.
Synonyme
gnome (Another small, magical being in stories, but usually more connected with gardens or magic than with mining and weapons.)
Antonyme
giant (In stories, a giant is a huge, often very tall being, the opposite of a short fantasy dwarf.)
Wortverbindungen
elves and dwarfs
|fantasy dwarfs
|dwarf warrior
|dwarf kingdom
|the seven dwarfs
Themen
entertainment
|mythology
|arts_entertainment
Beispiele
- In many fantasy worlds, dwarfs are famous for building strong stone cities inside mountains.
- He chose to play a dwarf warrior in the role‑playing game because he liked heavy armor.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a classic animated film based on a fairy tale.
Beispiele für Lernende
- In this game you can be an elf or a dwarf.
- The dwarf in the story carries a big axe.
- Dwarfs in fantasy books often live under the mountains.
Verb
B2
action
3
make something seem small by comparison
To be so big or so important that another thing looks small or not important next to you.
Verwendungsmuster:
[something] dwarfs [something]
Häufiger Fehler:
Learners sometimes say *"dwarf over"* or *"dwarf than"*. The normal pattern is "X dwarfs Y" or in the passive "Y is dwarfed by X". Do not add extra prepositions after "dwarf" when it is active.
Synonyme
overshadow (Often used more for importance or attention than for physical size, but similar idea of making something else seem less significant.)
Antonyme
highlight (To make something stand out, the opposite of making it seem small or unimportant.)
Wortverbindungen
towers dwarf the houses
|mountains dwarf the town
|sales dwarf last year's figures
|numbers that dwarf the competition
|a budget that dwarfs all others
Themen
size
|comparison
|core_vocabulary
Beispiele
- The new skyscraper completely dwarfs the old church next to it.
- China's population dwarfs that of many other countries.
- Online sales now dwarf the company's traditional in‑store revenue.
Beispiele für Lernende
- The tall building dwarfs the small houses around it.
- Her problems seemed to dwarf my small worries.
- Their sales dwarf our numbers this year.
adjective
B2
property
4
smaller variety of plant or animal
Very small compared with the normal kind of the same plant or animal.
Verwendungsmuster:
dwarf [plant/animal]
Häufiger Fehler:
Learners sometimes use "dwarf" before any small object. It is usually used for specific plant and animal varieties (for example, "dwarf hamster", "dwarf apple tree"), not for general objects like *"dwarf phone"* or *"dwarf car"*.
Synonyme
miniature (Often used more generally for small versions of things, not only plants and animals.)
Antonyme
full‑size (Describes the normal size, not a smaller variety.)
Wortverbindungen
dwarf shrub
|dwarf tree
|dwarf hamster
|dwarf rabbit
|dwarf goat
|dwarf variety
Themen
nature
|animals
Beispiele
- They planted dwarf shrubs along the path so they would not block the windows.
- My niece keeps two dwarf hamsters in a glass tank in her room.
- The farm breeds dwarf goats that are popular as pets.
Beispiele für Lernende
- We planted a dwarf tree in a big pot on the balcony.
- She wants a dwarf rabbit because her apartment is small.
- The garden shop sells many dwarf plants.
Nomen
technical
C1
entity
5
relatively small faint star
In space science, a star that is smaller and less bright than very large stars, often called a white dwarf or red dwarf.
Verwendungsmuster:
a dwarf star
Häufiger Fehler:
Learners may think "dwarf" here means a star with the medical condition dwarfism. In astronomy, "dwarf" only describes the star's size and brightness compared with other stars.
Synonyme
small star (Informal description; not a precise technical term like "dwarf" in astronomy.)
Antonyme
giant star (A star that is much larger and brighter, opposed to a dwarf star in astronomy.)
Wortverbindungen
white dwarf
|red dwarf
|brown dwarf
|cool dwarf
|dwarf star
Themen
science
|space
Beispiele
- Astronomers believe our sun will eventually become a white dwarf.
- Red dwarfs are small, cool stars that can burn for trillions of years.
- The telescope detected a faint dwarf star orbiting a brighter companion.
Beispiele für Lernende
- A white dwarf is a very small, heavy star.
- A red dwarf is cooler and smaller than our sun.
- Some planets move around a dwarf star.
Nomen
B2
entity
6
small decorative dwarf figure
A small figure shaped like a dwarf that people put in the garden for decoration.
Verwendungsmuster:
a garden dwarf
Häufiger Fehler:
Learners may think a "garden dwarf" means a very short person who works in the garden. In fact, it is a small decorative statue, not a real person.
Synonyme
garden gnome (Very similar idea; in many places "garden gnome" is more common than "garden dwarf".)
Antonyme
real person (Contrasts a live human with a small decorative statue of a dwarf.)
Wortverbindungen
garden dwarf
|lawn dwarf
|plastic dwarf
|stone dwarf
|a row of dwarfs
Themen
home
|entertainment
|daily_life
|housing
Beispiele
- The front yard was full of brightly painted garden dwarfs.
- Someone stole the stone dwarf from their lawn during the night.
- They lined the path with little dwarfs holding lanterns.
Beispiele für Lernende
- There is a small dwarf next to the garden door.
- My grandmother has ten garden dwarfs on her lawn.
- We bought a plastic dwarf for the yard.
Grammatik
Grundform
dwarf
IPA
GB/dwˈɔɹf/
US/dwˈɔɹf/
Silben & Betonung
dwarf (1 Silbe)
Stress on 1st syllable (dwarf)
Wortformen
Adjective
- Base: dwarf
- Comparative: dwarfer
- Superlative: dwarfest
Noun
- Base: dwarf
- Plural: dwarfs, dwarves
Verb
- Base: dwarf
- 3rd Person Singular: dwarfs
- Present Participle: dwarfing
- Past: dwarfed
Wortfamilie
Ausdrücke
be dwarfed by
1/bˈi dwˈɔɹft bˈaɪ/
fixed phrase
seem small beside something bigger
To look small or not important because something else near it is very big or very great.
Beispiele
- The old houses are dwarfed by the huge shopping mall next door.
- Her personal problems felt dwarfed by the scale of the disaster.
- Local companies are dwarfed by the international giants in the market.
brown dwarf
1/bɹˈaʊn dwˈɔɹf/
fixed phrase
technical
object between planet and star
A space object that is bigger than a planet but not big enough to burn like a normal star.
Beispiele
- Astronomers detected a brown dwarf floating alone in space without a parent star.
- Brown dwarfs are sometimes called failed stars because they never start full nuclear fusion.
dwarf galaxy
1/dwˈɔɹf ɡˈæləksi/
fixed phrase
technical
small low‑mass galaxy
A very small galaxy that has far fewer stars than a big galaxy like the Milky Way.
Beispiele
- The Milky Way is surrounded by many dwarf galaxies.
- Astronomers discovered a faint dwarf galaxy orbiting our own.
dwarf hamster
1/dwˈɔɹf hˈæmstɚ/
fixed phrase
small pet hamster breed
A very small kind of hamster that people often keep as a pet.
Beispiele
- Their children begged for a dwarf hamster after seeing one at a friend's house.
- Dwarf hamsters are active at night and need a secure cage.
dwarf planet
1/dwˈɔɹf plˈænət/
fixed phrase
technical
small planetlike body in space
A space object that goes around the sun like a planet, is round, but is too small and does not clear other objects from its path, so it is not called a full planet.
Beispiele
- Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.
- Scientists continue to discover new dwarf planets in the outer solar system.
dwarf rabbit
1/dwˈɔɹf ɹˈæbɪt/
fixed phrase
small pet rabbit breed
A small kind of rabbit that people keep as a pet, smaller than normal rabbits.
Beispiele
- The pet shop had several dwarf rabbits in one large pen.
- A dwarf rabbit can live happily indoors if it has enough space to move.
dwarf shrub
1/dwˈɔɹf ʃɹˈʌb/
fixed phrase
very small shrub variety
A small bush that stays low and does not grow tall, even when it is fully grown.
Beispiele
- They planted dwarf shrubs along the edge of the terrace.
- Dwarf shrubs are good for small gardens and rock gardens.
dwarf star
1/dwˈɔɹf stˈɑɹ/
fixed phrase
technical
star of the dwarf class
A star that scientists call a dwarf because it is smaller and usually less bright than giant stars.
Beispiele
- Our sun is considered a yellow dwarf star.
- Most stars you see in the night sky are dwarf stars rather than giants.
red dwarf
1/ɹˈɛd dwˈɔɹf/
fixed phrase
technical
small cool low‑mass star
A small, cool star that is not very bright and has less mass than our sun.
Beispiele
- Many of the stars closest to Earth are red dwarfs.
- Astronomers found several Earth‑sized planets orbiting a red dwarf.
white dwarf
1/wˈaɪt dwˈɔɹf/
fixed phrase
technical
small dense remnant star
A very small, very heavy star that is the hot core left after a star like our sun has burned all its fuel.
Beispiele
- Our sun will eventually become a white dwarf surrounded by a cloud of gas.
- The telescope captured an image of a white dwarf pulling material from a nearby star.