microcephalic

1 of 2

adjective

mi·​cro·​ce·​phal·​ic ˌmī-krō-sə-ˈfa-lik 

: having a small head

specifically : having an abnormally small head

microcephalic

2 of 2

noun

: one that is microcephalic

Examples of microcephalic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The microcephalic organoids were smaller than the organoids grown from healthy people, apparently because the patient’s stem cells had divided too early and became depleted. —Kat McGowan, Discover Magazine, 6 Jan. 2014

These numbers represent an astonishing departure from the statistics for last year, in which only 150 cases of microcephalic babies were recorded in the country. —Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 30 Dec. 2015

And then in 2015 an outbreak in Brazil was linked to an increase in microcephalic infants. —Lawrence Specker, AL.com, 18 July 2017

Zika infections carried by travelers have been brought back to Minnesota, New York, Hawaii (where a microcephalic baby was born), and other states in the U.S. —National Geographic, 28 Jan. 2016

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1856, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1873, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

microcephalic

1 of 2 adjective

mi·​cro·​ce·​phal·​ic ˌmī-krō-sə-ˈfal-ik 

: having a small head

specifically : having an abnormally small head

microcephalic

2 of 2 noun

: an individual with an abnormally small head