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
Michael Silver, New York Times, 16 June 2026
She was marginalized and not included in the deliberations to attack Venezuela or Iran.
—Arthur House, Hartford Courant, 15 June 2026
Again, educators and students suffer under another top-down, one-size-fits-all model that only serves to further disenfranchise and marginalize our kids.
—Chicago Tribune, 15 June 2026
The victims here were part of a community that had historically been targeted and marginalized.
—Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for marginalize
Cite this Entry
“Marginalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marginalize. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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marginalize
verb
