liminal

adjective

lim·​i·​nal ˈli-mə-nᵊl 

1

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

liminal visual stimuli

2

: 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

Did you know?

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

The tomb’s entrance passage, with narrowing walls and descending axis, creates a liminal stage to orient the body before entering the burial chamber. — Jacqueline Ortoleva, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2026

If the liminal atmosphere in Backrooms, enhanced by the cinematography of Jeremy Cox, gave you a sense of dread, his camera work on Concrete Turned to Sand will take you into a very different space – oyster farms in British Columbia, Canada. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, and Mark Duplass star in the movie, which follows a furniture store operator who discovers an endless array of liminal spaces in the store’s basement. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026

This city is already a freaky liminal space full of snaking pathways that are almost incomprehensible. — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin limin-, limen threshold

First Known Use

1875, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for liminal

• criminal
• noncriminal
• subliminal

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Medical Definition

liminal

adjective

lim·​i·​nal ˈlim-ən-ᵊl 

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

liminal visual stimuli