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.

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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

This kind of narrowing of the acceptable realm of conversation may have briefly led to a feeling that once marginalized groups were triumphing.

From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026

But she said ethnic studies “really tries to center voices that have been historically marginalized, so we don’t center his narrative in our classrooms.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

If you believe that artists are being marginalized, then help them by acquiring their work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

He ran for president in 1984 and founded the Rainbow Coalition, an advocacy organization that promoted the collaboration of marginalized groups.

From Salon • Feb. 17, 2026

The black people around me were strong and determined but marginalized and excluded.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson