as in dwarf
a person of no importance or influence
in high school he was just a little twerp, and now he's a big Internet entrepreneur
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Recent Examples of twerp
Most of the movie is a vaguely comical swipe at Napoleon in domestic life—an awkward lover, a jealous husband, an inveterate complainer, and in sum an annoying twerp.
—
Kyle Smith, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
Kind of a little twerp, now and again.
—Ashley Fetters Maloy, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2022
What a little twerp!
—Tolly Wright, Vulture, 2 June 2021
His Abigail is a perfect twerp, the peevish flipside to Pitt's Most Interesting Man in the World shtick.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2022
When Briggs leaves Lulu in a (cool, safe) car at night, an animal-rights twerp seeks to break a window with a rock to let in some air, until Briggs advises him why this would be a bad idea.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 18 Feb. 2022
That’s the mystery and the magnetism of what the actor’s doing, and without it this Henry would merely be a Lancastrian twerp.
—BostonGlobe.com, 24 Oct. 2019
To that end, its supporting characters are vivid: One step above Travis in the FAM hierarchy is Cody (Théodore Pellerin), a type-A twerp with a masochistic streak.
—Judy Berman, Time, 20 Aug. 2019
The fear is that kids who habitually order Amazon's Alexa to read them a story or command Google's Assistant to tell them a joke are learning to communicate not as polite, considerate citizens, but as demanding little twerps.
—Robbie Gonzalez, WIRED, 11 May 2018
Kyle Smith, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
Kind of a little twerp, now and again.
—Ashley Fetters Maloy, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2022
What a little twerp!
—Tolly Wright, Vulture, 2 June 2021
His Abigail is a perfect twerp, the peevish flipside to Pitt's Most Interesting Man in the World shtick.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2022
When Briggs leaves Lulu in a (cool, safe) car at night, an animal-rights twerp seeks to break a window with a rock to let in some air, until Briggs advises him why this would be a bad idea.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 18 Feb. 2022
That’s the mystery and the magnetism of what the actor’s doing, and without it this Henry would merely be a Lancastrian twerp.
—BostonGlobe.com, 24 Oct. 2019
To that end, its supporting characters are vivid: One step above Travis in the FAM hierarchy is Cody (Théodore Pellerin), a type-A twerp with a masochistic streak.
—Judy Berman, Time, 20 Aug. 2019
The fear is that kids who habitually order Amazon's Alexa to read them a story or command Google's Assistant to tell them a joke are learning to communicate not as polite, considerate citizens, but as demanding little twerps.
—Robbie Gonzalez, WIRED, 11 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for twerp
Noun
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Tell me a little bit about the technical side of filming a dwarf and an elf together.—
Devan Coggan,
EW.com,
13 Oct. 2022
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Other new characters include Disa, the first female dwarf ever shown in the Lord of the Rings series.—
Ethan Millman,
Rolling Stone,
22 July 2022
Noun
-
None of these nobodies is performing like Grimes just yet, and until someone does Grier better get active trying to find a handful of veteran cornerbacks whom this team can call on, and sign to patch up the weakest unit on the team.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
30 May 2025
-
And maybe that’s a metaphor for the way a lot of middle-class nobodies feel.—
Abigail Lee,
Variety,
13 May 2025
Noun
-
We are used to viewing video-game protagonists as tireless ciphers.—
Simon Parkin,
The Atlantic,
23 June 2025
-
Second, between February and October 1942, the Germans changed the anatomy of their Enigma cipher machine, meaning the Allies were unable to decode the messages sent to and from U-boats.—
Asia London Palomba,
Smithsonian Magazine,
2 June 2025
Noun
-
Specs Field of view 6.5° (341 feet at 1,000 yards) Close focus 10 feet Weight 12.4 oz (351 g) Eye relief 16mm More Great Compact Binoculars Photograph: Zeiss Zeiss Terra ED 8 x 25 Binoculars $400 Amazon These lightweight (10.9 ounces) pocket bins from Zeiss deliver a very good, sharp image.—
Scott Gilbertson,
Wired News,
25 June 2025
-
The peppermint offers a pleasant and fresh scent, the physical exfoliants did not feel harsh or stripping, and the lightweight, almost gel-like consistency glides on and massages into the skin with ease.—
Cierra Black,
Essence,
24 June 2025
Noun
-
Do control the Asian psyllid insects with an insecticide spray at each flush of growth to prevent the spread of greening disease.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 June 2025
-
In the forest and other natural settings, termites are beneficial insects that recycle woody debris, such as dead trees, and return nutrients to the soil.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
The new telescope does, though, have a whippersnapper nipping at its heels.—
Sarah Scoles,
Scientific American,
28 May 2025
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Now please don’t get the whippersnappers in the GTW offices wrong.—
Sean Keeler,
The Denver Post,
8 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Twerp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/twerp. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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