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
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
What a little twerp!
—Tolly Wright, Vulture, 2 June 2021
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
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
What a little twerp!
—Tolly Wright, Vulture, 2 June 2021
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
-
The shrub grows 6 to 15 feet tall; there are dwarf, medium-sized, and tall varieties.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
24 Aug. 2025
-
The dwarf galaxies of other galaxies, such as Centaurus A — the product of a major merger between two large galaxies — also orbit in a plane.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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More importantly, the narrative explores both sides of the conflict from the POV of grunts and 'nobodies' trying to navigate the post-Civil War state of the galaxy before the fighting stops.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
4 Aug. 2025
-
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
Noun
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She, the cinema; he, the audience — these ciphers would be compelling in short-form, but in carrying a feature they’re only buoyed by the natural chemistry of their performers.—
Blake Simons,
IndieWire,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Most organizations have little to no understanding of what cryptographic ciphers, keys and protocols are in use across their networks, applications and devices.—
Anand Oswal,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In that matchup, recently crowned UFC welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena looks to stave off the charge of ex-UFC lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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Next, tweens can pick a lightweight, hypoallergenic moisturizer with a texture that appeals to them.—
Khanh T.L. Tran,
USA Today,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
These plants are adapted to the specific soils, climate and other local conditions of their region and support the local food web, providing habitat for native wildlife, pollinators and insects.—
Chris McKeown,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The disease spreads through triatomine insect bites, per UCLA Health.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The reasons for the show’s appeal are manifold, starting with the odd-trio chemistry of the three leads (Short, plus his longtime co-conspirator Steve Martin and relative whippersnapper Selena Gomez).—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
8 Aug. 2025
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The new telescope does, though, have a whippersnapper nipping at its heels.—
Sarah Scoles,
Scientific American,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Twerp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/twerp. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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