marginalize
verb
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Marginalized Writing vs. Marginalized People
Marginalize provides a striking case of how thoroughly the figurative use of a word can take over the literal one. The original (and now obsolete) meaning of this word, “to write notes in the margin of,” is analogous to the still-familiar noun marginalia, “marginal notes or embellishments." A margin is, of course, the blank space surrounding the text in a book. Just prior to 1970, marginalize took on the sense that is most commonly encountered today, “to relegate to an unimportant or powerless position” (that is, to the metaphorical margins of society). This use of the verb can be found as far back as 1968; an article in The Los Angeles Times from June 20th of that year reports, “[T]he Negro was kept aside, marginalized, thus composing in its large majority the chronically poor.” In its newer sense, marginalize has assumed a much more prominent place in the vocabulary than it once had.
Examples of marginalize in a Sentence
Gabe Friedman, Sun Sentinel, 7 July 2025
For people who feel marginalized, bots seem less judgmental than humans.
—Yasmin Green, Foreign Affairs, 7 July 2025
Mel Searle, a UC junior and a student leader at the LGBTQ Center, said the centers were gathering places for students who might otherwise have felt marginalized.
—Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 3 July 2025
By rejecting pluralism and promoting a unifying ideology centered on Shiite Islam and Persian identity, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini marginalized non-Persian and non-Shiite groups.
—Shukriya Bradost, The Conversation, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for marginalize
Cite this Entry
“Marginalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marginalize. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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marginalize
verb
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