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

Fox also had his own spreadsheet, built around a Control-F search for terms like tribal, immigrants, diversity, inclusion, Indigenous, Native, equity, equality, marginalized, BIPOC, solidarity, citizenship, melting pot, social justice, and gay.

From Slate • May 14, 2026

“We need more voices — feminist perspectives, stories from marginalized communities, an honest reckoning with colorism and the hierarchies embedded in South Asian culture,” Singh said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

Against the backdrop of a society so focused on young people, I can occasionally feel marginalized, relegated to the sidelines.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

“It is still harder to get marginalized stories sort of made and seen by people, but ‘Heartstopper’ is part of that journey,” said Oseman, who also serves as series creator and executive producer.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

I even explained the origins of the term “geek,” how so many of them, once destined to be marginalized outcasts, were using technology to alter their fates, change their destinies, build a new culture.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz