borderline

[ bawr-der-lahyn ]
/ ˈbɔr dərˌlaɪn /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR borderline ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

on or near a border or boundary.
uncertain; indeterminate; debatable: not an alcoholic, but a borderline case.
not quite meeting accepted, expected, or average standards.
approaching bad taste or obscenity: He made several borderline remarks that offended them.

noun

a person suffering from borderline personality.

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Origin of borderline

First recorded in 1865–70; border + line1

Words nearby borderline

border terrier, bordereau, borderer, borderland, borderless, borderline, borderline personality, borderline personality disorder, borders, borders region, bordet
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to borderline

marginal, open, ambiguous, ambivalent, doubtful, equivocal, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, problematic, uncertain, unclear, undecided, unsettled, dubitable

Example sentences from the Web for borderline

British Dictionary definitions for borderline

borderline
/ (ˈbɔːdəˌlaɪn) /

noun

a border; dividing line; line of demarcation
an indeterminate position between two conditions or qualitiesthe borderline between friendship and love

adjective

on the edge of one category and verging on anothera borderline failure in the exam
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012