👶 A tiny person 🔬 Extremely small

lilliputian

9.9

A very small person like the tiny people in Gulliver's Travels

noun
/ˌlɪlɪˈpjuːʃən/

Literature

: liliputiense

That makes me feel a trifle lilliputian.

Examples

Quickly, you lazy little Lilliputian!

Animal Crackers (2017)
The children laughed as they played with their lilliputian action figures, which were no bigger than their hands.
He felt like a lilliputian among his tall friends, always having to look up to see their faces.
At the art exhibit, the artist showcased a lilliputian sculpture that fit perfectly in the palm of his hand.

Synonyms

little person

vslilliputian

75 5.9

A very short adult often because of a medical condition called dwarfism

evokes an extreme miniature image from a fictional story rather than a medical label

small person

vslilliputian

5 1.8

A person who is shorter than most people and has a light build

suggests a much more extreme, almost miniature size from fiction

titch

vslilliputian

1 9.9

A very small person, often a child

uses a literary tiny island image rather than an informal nickname

small fry

vslilliputian

Informal

1 7.4

Young children who are not yet adults

means an extremely small person in a fictional island sense, not just child

Tom Thumb

vslilliputian

9.3

A very small person used as a playful name

is drawn from a fictional island's very small inhabitants

half-pint

vslilliputian

Offensive

8.2

A rude name for a small or short person, often a child

is a literary tiny descriptor without mocking or teasing tone

Antonyms

tall

∞ 1.0

Higher than most people or things of the same kind

giant

Literature

153 2.3

A very large imaginary person in stories

How Small

lilliputian

Literature

9.9

dwarf

Slur

35 7.0

small person

5 1.8

child

∞ 1.0

person

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

lilliputian singular

lilliputians plural

Morphology

lilliputian = Lilliput (semi-transparent) = lilliput + ian

Formed by adding the suffix '-ian' to the place name 'Lilliput'; the derivation is clear but the meaning 'very small' depends on knowledge of Swift's tiny inhabitants rather than a productive semantic rule.

Etymology

Lilliputian comes from the tiny island Lilliput in Jonathan Swift's story 'Gulliver's Travels', where the people were very small. So a lilliputian as a noun is a person like those island people, a 'very small' person.