marked

[mahrkt, mahr-kid]

adjective

1. strikingly noticeable; conspicuous.

   with marked success.

   Synonyms: prominent, obvious, outstanding, striking

2. watched as an object of suspicion or vengeance.

   a marked man.

3. having a mark or marks.

   beautifully marked birds; to read the marked pages.

4. Linguistics.

   1. (of a phoneme) characterized by the presence of a phonological feature that serves to distinguish it from an otherwise similar phoneme lacking that feature, as (d), which, in contrast to (t), is characterized by the presence of voicing.

   2. characterized by the presence of a marker indicating the grammatical function of a construction, as the plural in English, which, in contrast to the singular, is typically indicated by the presence of the marker -s.

   3. specifying an additional element of meaning, in contrast to a semantically related item, as drake in contrast to duck, where drake specifies “male” while duck does not necessarily specify sex.

   4. occurring less typically than an alternative form, as the word order in Down he fell in contrast to the more usual order of He fell down.

marked

/ ˈmɑːkɪdlɪ, mɑːkt /

adjective

1. obvious, evident, or noticeable

2. singled out, esp for punishment, killing, etc

   a marked man

3. linguistics distinguished by a specific feature, as in phonology. For example, of the two phonemes /t/ and /d/, the /d/ is marked because it exhibits the feature of voice

Other Word Forms

• markedly adverb
• markedness noun
• half-marked adjective
• well-marked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of marked¹

Middle English; Old English gemearcod; mark ¹, -ed ²

Example Sentences

After one bumbling year coached by Jerod Mayo, New England tapped Mike Vrabel to lead the team—and Sunday night’s win over the Bills marked the franchise’s biggest triumph in years.

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This week might have marked a turning point.

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It is the first of several interlocking galleries that flow into one another without marked spatial division.

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That marked the fourth straight month of declines.

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Together, these events marked the beginning of an economy where state and corporation planned for growth and abundance.

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Related Words

• considerable 
• conspicuous 
• decided 
• distinct 
• notable 
• noticeable 
• pronounced 
• remarkable 
• striking