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Glite Dictionary
stunted

stunted

3 4.4
Smaller than usual and not fully grown because of not enough food or bad conditions
  • adjective
  • /ˈstʌntɪd/
translation icon : retrasado
  • Your plant will begin to look a little stunted and the roots will begin to turn really bulbous and and just kind of sick looking.
  • emotionally stunted
  • stunted tree
  • stunted girl

So your social life was very stunted.

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Examples

  • Driving hundreds of kilometers throughout the maize-growing regions of Zambia during the drought of 1991-92, one could see the stalks of stunted, dried maize that filled one plot after another.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The boy's shoulders and head were too large for his stunted, thin frame.

    Blog text (25)

  • The stalks of wheat were as stunted as underfed children.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The ones that survive often experience stunted growth and a number of later deficits because of these problematic illnesses.

  • Beyond them were rows of immature corn that looked bedraggled and stunted.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The child's height was stunted due to malnutrition during his early years.

  • The harsh climate caused the plants to grow stunted and unable to bear fruit.

  • We noticed that the stunted trees struggled to thrive in the rocky soil.

Synonyms

underdeveloped
vsstunted
3 4.3

Not grown enough to reach the normal size, skill, or quality

is smaller due to poor growth or bad conditions rather than general immaturity

Antonyms

thriving
6 3.8

Growing and very successful, like a busy café or arts scene

flourishing
1 4.2

Growing quickly and doing well, like a business or town

prospering
3.5

Growing and doing well, especially in business

How Developed

overdeveloped
  • Specialized
1 4.6
normal
∞ 1.0
small
∞ 1.0
undersized
8 3.3
stunted
3 4.4
dwarfish
1 7.2

Surface Forms

stunted positive

Morphology

stunted = stunt (transparent) = stunt + ed

Meaning is directly derived from the verb 'stunt' (to hinder growth) plus the adjectival/past participle suffix '-ed', indicating being affected by that action.

Etymology

Stunted comes from an old English word stunten meaning 'to stop' or 'to make short'. So when something is stunted, its growth has been 'stopped' or kept 'short', which is why we use it for children, plants, or things that are smaller or less developed than normal.