marginal

noun

(politics) A constituency won with a small margin.

Something or somebody that is marginal.

adjective

(not comparable) Of, relating to, or located at or near a margin or edge; also figurative usages of location and margin (edge).

Of a value, or having a characteristic that is of a value, that is close to being unacceptable or leading to exclusion from a group or category.

(comparable) Determined by a small margin; having a salient characteristic determined by a small margin.

(of land) Barely productive.

(politics, chiefly UK, Australia, New Zealand, of a constituency) Subject to a change in sitting member with only a small change in voting behaviour, this usually being inferred from the small winning margin of the previous election.

(geography) Sharing a border; geographically adjacent.

Written in the margin of a book.

(economics, not comparable) Pertaining to changes resulting from a unit increase in production or consumption of a good.

(sociology) Marginalized.

Roots

margomarg- · Latin · edge, border

Synonyms for marginal

borderlineadj negligibleadj minimaladj insignificantadj inferioradj

Synonyms & related words for marginal

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Words related to marginal

Explore words related to marginal — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include fringy, submarginal, marginality, marginally, margins, margent, marginate, marginalia. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for marginal

Common synonyms for marginal include borderline, negligible, minimal, insignificant, inferior — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does marginal come from?

The word marginal breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root marg-, from Latin margo (“edge, border”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.