liminal space

[lim-uh-nl speys]

noun

1. a state or place characterized by being transitional or intermediate in some way: In the film, Venice is a liminal space where the real and imaginary meet.

   Motels are such liminal spaces—everyone there is either coming or going.

   In the film, Venice is a liminal space where the real and imaginary meet.

2. Informal.,  any location that is unsettling, uncanny, or dreamlike.

   The classroom when school is out for the summer is a liminal space.

Word History and Origins

Origin of liminal space¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

She leaves plenty of blood and gore on the page, which explains why “Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave” feels like a departure: It confronts mortality in a warm, inviting tone, embracing the liminal space between the dead and living.

From Los Angeles Times

But it was in fact a breeding ground of artistic ferment, in which creatives grappled with what Elie calls crypto-religion, that “liminal space between belief and disbelief” that produced a wealth of thought-provoking popular art.

From Los Angeles Times

That liminal space that Elie describes between belief and disbelief has closed, at least for the time being.

From Los Angeles Times

Elie calls it crypto-religion, in which artists negotiated the “liminal space between belief and non-belief,” and in so doing, created a rich body of work that raised the question “of what the person who made it believes, so that the question of what it means to believe is crucial to the work’s effect.”

From Los Angeles Times

As a death doula, a big part of the work is sitting in that liminal space rather than running away from it.

From Los Angeles Times