liminal space

American  

[lim-uh-nl speys] / ˈlɪm ə nl ˈspeɪs /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of liminal space

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

It can feel like a liminal space, but the work of a critic never stops, and a stroll through Chelsea offers views, laudable and not, of how galleries navigate this transitional period.

From The Wall Street Journal

As I see glimpses of Low’s home before and after the fires, I again feel as if I’m standing in a liminal space, a remembrance but also a reminder.

From Los Angeles Times

The posts themselves exist in a liminal space between life and death.

From The Wall Street Journal

The chunk of time between the day after Christmas and that first full week in January — when most people find themselves slogging back to work, their hearts and minds full of hopes, aspirations and wishes for a good stretch of luck in a brand new year — is truly a liminal space.

From Salon

All three sisters found themselves single, and the music inhabits that strange liminal space where you're relieved to be free, but not quite ready to move on.

From BBC