demarcation

noun

de·​mar·​ca·​tion ˌdē-ˌmär-ˈkā-shən 

plural demarcations

1

: the marking of the limits or boundaries of something : the act, process, or result of demarcating something

the demarcation of property lines

2

: something that marks or constitutes a boundary

a demarcation line

: a marked or perceived distinction between one area, category, etc., and another

The ability to test a theory against physical evidence … has provided a useful demarcation between science and pseudoscience.

—Norriss S. Hetherington

Certainly no clear line of demarcation has as yet been drawn between species and sub-species—that is, the forms which in the opinion of some naturalists come very near to, but do not quite arrive at the rank of species.

—Charles Darwin

There has been much chatter in recent seasons about the great gender crossover, that deliberate erosion on the runways of a once-rigid demarcation between conventionally feminine and masculine clothes.

—Elizabeth Paton

… the continued presence in the modern imagination of a sharp demarcation between public and private space.

—AAG Abstracts

Synonyms

• discreteness
• discrimination
• distinction
• separation

Examples of demarcation in a Sentence

the lines of demarcation between art and entertainment are often blurry

Recent Examples on the Web

Video shared by the South Korean Defense Ministry showed several explosions on roads on the north side of the military demarcation line that separates two Koreas. —Gawon Bae, CNN, 15 Oct. 2024

In 2022, Chinese aircraft began routinely flying over the median line in the Taiwan Strait, a demarcation that both sides had previously respected for over half a century. —David Sacks, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2024

There’s also clearer demarcations between casual and dressier fashions. —David Moin, WWD, 17 Oct. 2024

Of those, 111 warplanes crossed the Median Line – an informal demarcation point in the Taiwan Strait that Beijing does not recognize, but until recent years had largely respected – and entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). —Wayne Chang, CNN, 15 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1728, in the meaning defined at sense 1