Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for "marginalized"

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.


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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing marginalized

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Talarico, believing God is on the side of the oppressed and the marginalized, focuses his message to voters on equity and protecting personal freedom.

From Salon Aug. 14, 2026

“If that bothers you, don’t hesitate to mute or block me. I don’t have the capacity or patience to debate with internet strangers as to why they should be considerate of marginalized communities.”

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 24, 2026

This is a question that Black and brown Americans, and members of other marginalized groups, have been asking themselves for centuries.

From Salon Jun. 30, 2026

There are also concerns that social media can form an important part of the lives of marginalized young people in particular.

From Slate Jun. 18, 2026

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

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training