marginally
Americanadverb
-
by a minimal, insignificant, or almost insufficient amount.
This student routinely submits work of substandard or marginally acceptable quality.
Pork exports in May were marginally higher compared with the previous year.
-
at a barely adequate level.
The shelter offers shower and laundry facilities for homeless and marginally housed adults.
-
in the margin of a page.
It is obvious that Jack London read these books, as they are marked, underlined, and marginally annotated.
-
on the border of something.
On the wings of butterflies, marginally located contrastive markings create false edges, helping to decrease detection by predators.
Other Word Forms
- supermarginally adverb
- transmarginally adverb
- unmarginally adverb
Etymology
Origin of marginally
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.
Borenstein said he didn’t expect that the new state oil production would do much to lower gas prices because it is only marginally cheaper than oil imported by ocean tankers.
From Los Angeles Times
By the time fourth period rolled around, I was feeling marginally better.
From Literature
—Bitcoin rose marginally but continued to struggle for a meaningful recovery after U.S. stocks closed mostly lower overnight.
The bond purchases were “marginally helpful,” but more would be necessary for a broader pickup in the mortgage market, Fifth Third Bancorp Chief Financial Officer Bryan Preston said in an interview last month.
It found that industry output steadied to begin the year as backlogs were cleared and new products were released, though demand remained soft and new order inflows declined marginally.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
