marginalize

American  

[mahr-juh-nl-ahyz] / ˈmɑr dʒə nlˌaɪz /

especially British, marginalise

verb (used with object)

marginalized, marginalizing

1. to place in a position of minor or marginal importance, significance, relevance, or effect.

   The government is attempting to marginalize criticism and restore public confidence.

2. to isolate or exclude from the dominant culture; perceive or treat as being on the fringes of a society or group.

   All of these policies have marginalized our vulnerable sisters and brothers for their religion, skin color, or sexual orientation.

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marginalize British  

/ ˈmɑːdʒɪnəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to relegate to the fringes, out of the mainstream; make seem unimportant

   various economic assumptions marginalize women

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Other Word Forms

• marginalization noun

Etymology

Origin of marginalize

First recorded in 1825–35 for an earlier sense; marginal + -ize

Example Sentences

But the UFW is a shadow of its former self, marginalized by decades of infighting, bad decisions and what critics say is gross mismanagement.

From Los Angeles Times

“If the membership scales too high, you’re making your regular guests feel marginalized,” says Brown.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

Completely marginalized during the administration’s Venezuela incursion, she was not even being invited to the White House Situation Room to observe the operation.

From Salon

She adds that her album was also inspired by a marginalized group that stuck by her side through her ups and downs: the LGBTQ+ community.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deprecate
• diminish
• disparage
• downplay