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
Taking on classic buddy-comedy attributes, Sam is the together one with a programmatic path toward life as a wealthy but hollow finance twerp, while Ari is the brash, cracked, less-medicated-than-he-should-be bull in a china shop.
—
Joe Reid, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025
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
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
Joe Reid, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025
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
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
-
Hardy in Zones 8a-10b, a dwarf olive grows no more than 15 feet tall.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Look for dwarf pea varieties that don’t necessarily seek extra support and may perform better in containers.—
Samantha Johnson,
Martha Stewart,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Seattle’s John Schneider and New England’s Eliot Wolf rose up from young nobodies to graduate from Green Bay Packers University, too.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Many of Newsom’s critics who breathlessly report on his evil plans (that the left-wing mainstream media supposedly cover up) are just nobodies who feign authority and are obviously fronting for right-wing organizations.—
Dan Walters,
Oc Register,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Finally, Marilyn is not presented as a cipher to be solved or quarry to be caged.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Jan. 2026
-
The Blind Owl is extremely dense, brimming with metaphors and ciphers and symbols.—
Amir Ahmadi Arian,
The Dial,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But an effort to close that loop and manufacture the lightweight, power-enhancing metal that is a primary component in EV batteries at a coastal Georgia facility has stalled out like an EV that’s run out of juice.—
Adam Van Brimmer,
AJC.com,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Monte Vista boasts a pair of solid lightweights in Alexa Malinis (100) and Katara Ortiz (105).—
Kevin J. Farmer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
By now, the insects are well established throughout most of the state’s coast and most of its largest urban centers.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Antiparasitic Oregano oil is also an antiparasitic insect repellent.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
And the Sharks have no obvious replacement for him — no young whippersnapper in the pipeline ready for his moment.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
30 Dec. 2025
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And Markey has defeated whippersnapper-type political foes before.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Twerp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/twerp. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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