borderline

American  

[bawr-der-lahyn] / ˈbɔr dərˌlaɪn /

adjective

1. on or near a border or boundary.

2. having an uncertain, indeterminate, or debatable status.

   He was a borderline case for admission to the program—please encourage him to apply again next year.

3. not quite meeting accepted, expected, or average standards.

   Discover specific how-to strategies for turning a borderline student into a confident achiever.

   Synonyms:

   marginal, unsure, precarious, doubtful

4. approaching bad taste or obscenity.

   He made several borderline remarks that offended them.

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noun

1. null border line.

   1. a border or boundary.

      The town of Tiverton, Rhode Island, rests on the once-disputed Massachusetts borderline.

   2. a notional dividing line.

      Often the borderline between safety and toxicity is very small, and every year thousands of fish die as a consequence of chemical overdosing.

2. a person with borderline personality disorder.

borderline British  

/ ˈbɔːdəˌlaɪn /

noun

1. a border; dividing line; line of demarcation

2. an indeterminate position between two conditions or qualities

   the borderline between friendship and love

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adjective

1. on the edge of one category and verging on another

   a borderline failure in the exam

Etymology

Origin of borderline

First recorded in 1865–70; border + line ¹

Example Sentences

They move freely, obscuring borderlines between categories that once loomed like separate land masses: jazz and chamber music; acoustic and electric ensembles; songs and improvised forms.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Even 200 wins is borderline undoable unless they have a lot of good fortune.”

From The Wall Street Journal

One person wrote on Facebook about seeing “borderline junk yard cars quite regularly.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Split between its rival language camps, Belgium's complex political patchwork has long been seen as borderline dysfunctional.

From Barron's

Individuals with low or borderline scores, particularly if they report no chest pain or shortness of breath, are frequently reassured and discharged without further evaluation.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• marginal