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Glite Dictionary
to border on

to border on

30 5.2
To be almost an extreme or bad state
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈbɔrdər ɑn/
translation icon : rozar
  • Well, I feel like we are bordering on saying something evil.
  • borders on the absurd
  • often borders on
  • conditions that border on

Some people have superstitions that border on or even become compulsions.

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Examples

  • His obsession with perfection borders on madness.

  • My need for the next thing, the next thing, the next thing borders on pathological.

  • I think it's a good thing, although it can border on unhealthy.

    Film Courage

  • This one almost borders on too many takeaways.

  • The windows were open, the fan on, but the air still bordered on the uncomfortable.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I'll cooperate but this is bordering on harassment.

    In the Line of Fire (1993)

  • Their grandiosity borders on the delusional.

    DoctorRamani

  • Most of them work under conditions that border on peonage at dismally low wage rates.

    Academic text (1991)

  • At times, a melancholic mood, bordering on despair, descended on us.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • During our stay, we noted that other women expressed similar doubt bordering on disdain toward masquerades.

    Academic text (2003)

Synonyms

to approach
vsto border on
125 3.3

To be nearly the same in quality or amount

describes being on the edge of a specific state, often negative or extreme
to verge
vsto border on
6 5.1

To come very close to being something

is used when closeness points to an often undesirable or extreme state
to verge on
vsto border on
4 5.6

To be almost in an extreme or bad state

is the same meaning but uses a different common phrasing

Antonyms

to differ
152 2.6

To be different from another person or thing in some way

How Close

to border on
30 5.2
to verge on
4 5.6

Surface Forms

border on infinitive
bordered on past
bordered on past participle
bordering on present participle
borders on third person singular

Morphology

border + on

The meaning is a straightforward spatial-to-abstract extension: 'border' (lie next to) + 'on' signals adjacency to a quality, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer 'be very close to' or 'almost' that state. This compositional pattern is common in English and in many languages, making the expression predictable for B1 learners.

Etymology

Border on gives a simple picture: border is the edge between two places and on means at that edge. So if something borders on a feeling or state, it is right at the edge of it, 'to be very close to' or almost that quality.