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Glite Dictionary
marginality

marginality

1 8.7
A situation of being outside the main part of a group or society
  • noun
  • /mɑrˈdʒɪnəlɪti/
translation icon : marginalidad
  • The marginality of certain communities often leads to their voices being ignored in political decisions.
  • economic marginality
  • social marginality
  • feelings of marginality

Examples

  • Her experience of marginality made her more empathetic towards those who feel excluded from mainstream society.

  • Simply put, the marginality of African Americans occurs from elementary school to the highest level of educational attainment.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The high level of marginality in the cities is the foundation for extensive social problems.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Both, sadly, are caught in a marginality of their own making.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The nub of the problem remains minimal economic growth and the continued marginality of a large part of the urban population.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Only too aware of their marginality in American political life, academics peevishly insult the general public.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Today, the peasantry has been elevated to the status of national icon, and its former social marginality is forgotten.

    Academic text (1990)

  • If the threat is external, it may amplify their sense of marginality within and acute alienation from society.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Gonzalo's awareness of the effects of his own marginality contributes to his link with the twentieth-century reader.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Up-country Tamils' own political and social marginality is at the core of these threats of impending violence.

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

outsiderness
vsmarginality
1 7.7

Feeling separate from a group or community

focuses on being at the group's edge as a social position
subalternity
vsmarginality
  • Jargon
9.9

Being treated as less important and kept out of power

is a broader state of being at the edge of a group or field
outsideness
vsmarginality
7.9

Feeling not part of a group or community

points to an external edge position rather than a private feeling
outness
vsmarginality
9.6

A feeling of not being included in a group or activity

is more about being on the fringe than full exclusion

Antonyms

mainstream
75 3.4

The ideas and activities most people accept as normal

centrality
5 6.4

Being in the middle or most important part of something

How Marginal

exclusion
64 4.2
marginality
1 8.7
membership
156 2.7
inclusion
65 3.7

Surface Forms

marginality singular
marginalities plural

Morphology

marginality = marginal (transparent) = margin + al + ity

Standard nominalization of the adjective 'marginal' with '-ity' yields the state or quality of being marginal.

Etymology

The word marginality comes from the simple word margin, which means 'edge' or 'border', and the ending -ity that turns a word into a state or quality. So, marginality is the state of being on the 'edge' of a group or society, which is why it describes people or places that feel left out or at the fringes.