MARGINAL: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for MARGINAL?

Need another word that means the same as “marginal”? Find 15 synonyms and 30 related words for “marginal” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Marginal” are: borderline, bare, fringy, slight, small, tiny, minute, low, minor, insignificant, minimal, negligible, disputable, questionable, doubtful

Marginal as an Adjective

Definitions of "Marginal" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “marginal” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• (of costs or benefits) relating to or resulting from small or unit changes.
• Just barely adequate or within a lower limit.
• Close to the limit of profitability, especially through difficulty of exploitation.
• Relating to water adjacent to the land's edge or coast.
• Relating to or at the edge or margin.
• Minor and not important; not central.
• At or constituting a border or edge.
• Producing at a rate that barely covers production costs.
• (of a parliamentary or council seat) held by a small majority and therefore at risk in an election.
• (of taxation) relating to increases in income.
• Of questionable or minimal quality.
• (of a decision or distinction) very narrow; borderline.

Synonyms of "Marginal" as an adjective (15 Words)

bare	Just barely adequate or within a lower limit. The bare walls.
borderline	Only just acceptable in quality or as belonging to a category. Borderline grades.
disputable	Not established as a fact, and so open to question or debate. Whether it can be described as art criticism may be disputable.
doubtful	Improbable. It is doubtful whether these schemes have any lasting effect.
fringy	At or constituting a border or edge.
insignificant	Small and unimpressive. Insignificant yet enchanting phrases.
low	Ranking below other people or things in importance or class. I was feeling low.
minimal	The least possible. Production costs are minimal.
minor	Of an interval characteristic of a minor scale and less by a semitone than the equivalent major interval. A minor share of the profits.
minute	Characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination. Two minute whiplike threads of protoplasm.
negligible	So small or unimportant as to be not worth considering; insignificant. He said that the risks were negligible.
questionable	Able to be refuted. His questionable financial deals.
slight	Being of delicate or slender build. A slight increase.
small	Made to seem smaller or less especially in worth. The small hill that sheltered the house.
tiny	Very small. Tiny feet.

Usage Examples of "Marginal" as an adjective

• A marginal victory.
• Marginal notes.
• The issue is to estimate the marginal benefit from the increased frequency of screening examinations against the marginal increased cost.
• Marginal farmland.
• The marginal strip of beach.
• Marginal writing ability.
• The marginal tax rates on these incomes rise to as much as 80 per cent in some republics.
• It seems likely to make only a marginal difference.
• Water lilies and marginal aquatics.
• Marginal industries.
• The cost is negligible, less than marginal.
• A marginal offside decision.

Associations of "Marginal" (30 Words)

edge	Provide with an edge. She perched on the edge of a desk.
few	The minority of people; the elect. An invalid s pleasures are few and far between.
inconsiderable	Of small size, amount, or extent. A not inconsiderable amount of money.
insignificant	Signifying nothing. Insignificant yet enchanting phrases.
irreducible	Incapable of being made smaller or simpler. Literature is often irreducible to normative ideas.
least	Used in names of very small animals and plants e g least shrew. He has the least talent of anyone.
limit	Set or serve as a limit to. Try to limit the amount you drink.
little	Informal small and of little importance. The plants will grow into little bushes.
marginally	To only a limited extent; slightly. He s marginally worse than he was.
mini	Denoting a miniature version of something. A bouquet of mini carnations.
miniature	Represent on a smaller scale. A miniature camera.
minimal	Characterized by simplicity and lack of adornment or decoration. A minimal charge for the service.
minimum	The point on a curve where the tangent changes from negative on the left to positive on the right. They checked visas with the minimum of fuss.
minor	A minor key interval or scale. A minor official.
negligible	Not worth considering. The effect was negligible.
peccadillo	A petty misdeed. The sexual peccadilloes of celebrities aren t necessarily news.
peripheral	A peripheral device. The peripheral areas of Europe.
pettiness	The quality of being unimportant and petty or frivolous. The sheer pettiness of the officials was quite startling.
reducible	Capable of being reduced- Edmund Wilson. Shakespeare s major soliloquies are not reducible to categories.
reductive	(with reference to art) minimal. The reductive elimination of acetyl iodide.
rim	Roll around the rim of. The outer rim of the solar system.
slight	(quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a’) at least some. She was slight and delicate looking.
slightly	(with reference to a person’s build) in a slender way. He lowered his voice slightly.
subnormal	Not meeting standards or reaching a level regarded as usual. Subnormal intelligence.
tiny	Very small. A tiny hummingbird.
token	Insignificantly small a matter of form only tokenish is informal. The patronizing treatment of the token Middle Eastern character.
trifling	Not worth considering. A trifling matter.
trivial	Concerned with trivialities. A trivial young woman.
unimportant	Devoid of importance, meaning, or force. A relatively unimportant feature of the system.
unreported	Not reported. Many human rights abuses went unreported.