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
Aryn Baker, Time, 8 May 2025
Anglophone Cameroonians feel marginalized by the Francophone majority.
—Nalova Akua, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2025
Instead of being demonized, marginalized, or portrayed as the 'other,' our characters were attractive, appealing, affluent.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 May 2025
Sectarian violence has hit Syria several times since the ouster of Mr. al-Assad, stoking fears among many minority groups that the country’s new leaders will marginalize or target them.
—Euan Ward, New York Times, 30 Apr. 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 21 May. 2025.
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marginalize
verb
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