pygmy 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of pygmynext
as in diminutive
of a size that is less than average a pygmy elephant

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pygmy

2 of 2

noun

ˈpig-mē How to pronounce pygmy (audio)
variants also pigmy
1
as in dwarf
something (such as an animal) much smaller than others of its kind hummingbirds may be the pygmies of the avian world, but what they lack in size they make up for in beauty

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cipher
a person of no importance or influence regrettably, most of the candidates for the party's nomination that year were political pygmies

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pygmy
Noun
However, hunting pygmy elephants may simply not have been worth the effort, even for a species that was otherwise capable of doing it. — ArsTechnica, 9 July 2026 Thanks to the popularity of Toni, Brötchen's older sister, Zoo Berlin raised more than $6,000 in a 2024 charity auction for pygmy hippo conservation efforts in Sierra Leone. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 18 June 2026 Tennessee is home to 32 species of snakes, but only four of them secrete venom — the copperhead, cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake and pygmy rattlesnake. — Jack Armstrong, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 3 June 2026 Pygmy rattlesnake Most adult dusky pygmy rattlesnakes are about 12 to 14 inches in length, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. — Sarah Perkel, USA Today, 3 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for pygmy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pygmy
  1. diminutive
  2. dwarf
  3. cipher
  4. small
  5. toy
  6. nobody
  7. little
  8. insect
Adjective
  • Harris’s son Thomas Harris also runs Midtown Biscuits out of the diminutive bakery in the basement level of a midtown Victorian.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Schmid is sometimes easy to barge off the ball, but makes up for his diminutive frame with great technique across the final third.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of diminutive
Noun
  • The image, captured a year earlier by the Hubble Space Telescope, showed UGC 9050-Dw1, a dwarf galaxy some 115 million light-years from Earth.
    — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Watching all ten members sing at once is funny the way the seven dwarves all sleeping in their little beds next to each other is funny.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of dwarf
Noun
  • There’s that vibrancy and, on the other side of the ledger, dead boys, ciphers, unfinished or unfinishable quests.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • But in my view, our relationships to animals, whose lives are untouched by the existential woes and artifices of personhood, are the richest and most evident ciphers for our own often inscrutable psyches.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 June 2026
Definition of cipher
Adjective
  • That’s a dangerous prospect for any country, but especially for Singapore, crammed into a space smaller than New York City.
    — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
  • But after home brewers were able to show the appeal of hoppy IPAs, malty stouts and citrusy wheat ales, that eventually led to a boom in small breweries.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of small
Noun
  • Freiden, who’s also the CEO of children’s toy brand Constructive Playthings, said changing interests in children’s birthday parties and a spike in rent contributed to the closure.
    — Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Robert Ebendorf’s 2010 Untitled Daguerreotype Brooch combines a daguerreotype with copper, plastic, and a crab claw, while his Birthday Necklace incorporates repurposed jewelry and toy railroad tracks.
    — Livia Caligor, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of toy
Noun
  • In the trailer, the civilians are selling themselves as a new breed of nobodies.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Despite the tragicomic instability and the rotating cast of nobodies temporarily tasked with running the country, when seen in macroeconomic terms, Peru appears to be doing just fine, thank you.
    — Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026
Definition of nobody
Adjective
  • Elsewhere, Hailey Bieber gave us a lesson in polished wedding guest glam, while Joey King played with the little details on the Practical Magic 2 promo tour.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Bohm cited a 2020 crash that killed 20-year-old driver Ezekial Bishop and his passenger, 18-year-old Ryan Breaux, recording artist Frank Ocean's little brother.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of little
Noun
  • Feeding your turf at the right times through the seasons can result in fewer lawn weeds, fewer insect and disease issues, and better tolerance of drought and temperature extremes.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Barnacles, insects, trout, and arachnids carry evidence of ancient duplications in their genomes.
    — Carrie Arnold Contributing, Quanta Magazine, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of insect

Browse Nearby Words

pygmies
pygmy
pyramid
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pygmy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pygmy. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on pygmy

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pygmy

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