marginalize

especially British, mar·gin·al·ise

[mahr-juh-nl-ahyz]

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.

marginalize

/ ˈmɑːdʒɪnəˌlaɪz /

verb

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

   various economic assumptions marginalize women

Other Word Forms

• marginalization noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of marginalize¹

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

Example Sentences

Many Zaidis, who made up about a third of Yemen’s population, felt marginalized.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She writes: “We hadn’t made our record to garner fame and fortune. We made it for the art rats known and unknown, the marginalized, the shunned, the disowned.”

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Politically isolating Hezbollah could leave the country’s Shiite population, hundreds of thousands of whom support Hezbollah, feeling marginalized and less attached to the state.

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The controversy gained traction because of Smith’s record of championing the marginalized, citing theorists like Frantz Fanon while targeting empires and the omnipresent patriarchy.

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While disparaging advocates for the marginalized as impediments to winning the votes of white “moderates,” the New Democrats embraced corporate America.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• deprecate 
• diminish 
• disparage 
• downplay