liminal

adjective

lim·i·nal ˈli-mə-nᵊl

Synonyms of liminal next

: of, relating to, or situated at a sensory threshold : barely perceptible or capable of eliciting a response

liminal visual stimuli

: of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : in-between, transitional

… in the liminal state between life and death.—

Deborah Jowitt

liminality

ˌli-mə-ˈna-lə-tē

noun

plural liminalities

The market, standing between the sacred and secular, the mundane and exotic, and the local and global, has always been a place of liminality … —

Jon Goss

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Get in Between Liminal

Liminal is a word for the in-between. It describes states, times, spaces, etc., that exist at a point of change—a metaphorical threshold—as in “the liminal zone between sleep and wakefulness.” The idea of a threshold is at the word’s root; it comes from Latin limen, meaning “threshold.” In technical use liminal means “barely perceptible” or “barely capable of eliciting a response,” and it has a familiar partner with a related meaning: subliminal can mean “inadequate to produce a sensation or a perception,” though it more often means “existing or functioning below the threshold of consciousness.” Limen has served as the basis for a number of other English words, including eliminate (“to cast out”), sublime (“lofty in conception or expression”), preliminary (“introductory”), and the woefully underused postliminary (“subsequent”).

Examples of liminal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Released in January, Great Doubt felt more vital with each passing month, as 2024 became even more unsettled and liminal. —

Pitchfork, 3 Dec. 2024 Inspired by creepypastas, liminal spaces and films such as the Blair Witch Project, analog horror has been steadily becoming more mainstream over the years, and YouTube has played a major part in its rise. —

Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2024 For the installation-performance hybrid, guests were directed to the exhibition space, a waiting room replica, by ushers who never returned to collect them, producing the banal anxiety of liminal, unstructured time. —

Phoebe Chen, ARTnews.com, 22 Oct. 2024 What Ryan showed us all [so far] was a sort of nightmare, fever dream, surreal liminal version of our reality. —

Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for liminal