microcephaly

British

/ ˌmaɪkrəʊsɪˈfælɪk, ˌmaɪkrəʊˈsɛfəlɪ /

noun

the condition of having an abnormally small head or cranial capacity Compare megacephaly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

microcephalic adjective
microcephalous adjective

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Tamara had microcephaly - an abnormally small head - one of many conditions resulting from her mother being infected with the Zika virus while pregnant.

From BBC • Aug. 3, 2025

Experts like Mardjane Lemos, the doctor who diagnosed some of the first cases of Zika-related microcephaly, said this was far from enough.

From BBC • Aug. 3, 2025

While related cases of microcephaly or Guillain-Barre syndrome have yet to be reported, infections were the highest they’ve been since 2021.

From Salon • Feb. 3, 2025

"In many cases, animal models simply do not recapitulate either the characteristics or the degree of severity seen in human brain diseases such as microcephaly," Song said.

From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2024

Still, the horrifying stories about mothers trying to console their babies born with microcephaly and other tragic birth defects were heartbreaking.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023