marginalized

American  

[mahr-juh-nl-ahyzd] / ˈmɑr dʒə nlˌaɪzd /

especially British, marginalised

adjective

1. placed in a position of little or no importance, influence, or power.

   Technology has the power to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and strengthen our democracy.

---

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of marginalize.

Etymology

Origin of marginalized

marginalize ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

Anyone who's marginalized has been pushed to the edges of society and made to feel insignificant. Marginalized people often include members of racial, cultural, and religious minorities. Marginalized comes from margin, which means "the edge of a page." When groups are marginalized, they're figuratively kept in society's margins, away from the center where power and privilege lies. Marginalized people are labeled as outsiders for reasons such as their skin color, poverty, education level, gender identification, age, or disabilities. At the fringes of society, marginalized people often live without full access to their civil rights.

Example Sentences

Today, Pangthong works for an organization in Stockton called Empowering Marginalized Asian Communities, where he mentors kids with the types of emotional issues he faced as a teen.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2023

Marginalized communities, and particularly communities of color, have proved time and again that they will overcome and achieve their liberation in all ways necessary, even in the face of deadly injustices.

From Scientific American • Nov. 1, 2022

Marginalized members of India's Hindu majority and Muslim minority live in close quarters along the narrow alleys of Jahangirpuri.

From Reuters • Apr. 21, 2022

Marginalized groups have long complained that children and teens do not get a robust education in the histories of Jewish, Black and other cultures.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 4, 2022

Marginalized people need to be in control of their own narratives, rather than being used as tokens in a vague promise for diversity.

From Slate • Sep. 6, 2021