as in subtle
barely perceptible by a sense or by the mind
They studied how the subjects were affected by different sounds played at liminal intensity.
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Recent Examples of liminal
The post quickly became a vaunted piece of creepypasta, influencing everything from Severance to Playboi Carti, and it has been adopted as everyday parlance to describe any eerie, liminal space.
—
Harry Thorfinn-George, Pitchfork, 11 June 2026
If that sounds like your kind of scare, here are eight other liminal horror films to lose yourself in.
—Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 10 June 2026
The YouTube series was originally inspired by a meme created on 4chan in 2019 that saw internet users uploading images of eerie liminal spaces.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
Early in the movie, failed architect and failing furniture-store owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discovers a portal into a seemingly endless, unpopulated liminal space filled with distorted reproductions of real-world rooms, objects, and even whole neighborhoods.
—Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for liminal
Harry Thorfinn-George, Pitchfork, 11 June 2026
If that sounds like your kind of scare, here are eight other liminal horror films to lose yourself in.
—Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 10 June 2026
The YouTube series was originally inspired by a meme created on 4chan in 2019 that saw internet users uploading images of eerie liminal spaces.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
Early in the movie, failed architect and failing furniture-store owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discovers a portal into a seemingly endless, unpopulated liminal space filled with distorted reproductions of real-world rooms, objects, and even whole neighborhoods.
—Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for liminal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for liminal
Adjective
-
Star power takes a neutral cat-eye base and turns it into a subtle statement moment.—
Amanda Le,
InStyle,
17 June 2026
-
Where their Florida style is bold and flamboyant, the ranch is subtle and defined by a rich, earthy palette.—
Elizabeth Kiefer,
Architectural Digest,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
Single dishes tend to be more sensitive and able to pick up faint radio waves from deeper in the cosmos, but radio arrays with many dishes tend to capture much sharper images.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
21 June 2026
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However, this new research showed that these point sources, including pulsars, would be extremely faint, and that is good news for scientists who favor annihilating dark matter as the cause of these gamma rays.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
21 June 2026
Adjective
-
Randy’s name was revealed during JoAnne’s (Sarah Goldberg) conversation with an unseen agent in the closing moments of the finale.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
16 June 2026
-
Behind many accomplishments are friends, colleagues, mentors, relatives, teachers, and caregivers whose contributions often go unseen.—
Jennifer Jay Palumbo,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Emmys’ producers passing up on even the slightest possibility of a Werner Herzog acceptance speech is sheer lunacy.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
20 June 2026
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The team has improved so much that its 1-1 draw against powerhouse Brazil was a slight disappointment.—
David Brandt,
Chicago Tribune,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
And public health is so invisible.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
-
There, on May 29, Sojourner Truth delivered a legendary speech that called on attendees to reject the racial and gender biases used to limit her place in society and to defy a status quo that devalued her as a Black woman and treated her as invisible and expendable.—
Jocelyn Frye,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Liminal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/liminal. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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