marginally

[mahr-juh-nl-ee]

adverb

1. by a minimal, insignificant, or almost insufficient amount.

   This student routinely submits work of substandard or marginally acceptable quality.

   Pork exports in May were marginally higher compared with the previous year.

2. at a barely adequate level.

   The shelter offers shower and laundry facilities for homeless and marginally housed adults.

3. in the margin of a page.

   It is obvious that Jack London read these books, as they are marked, underlined, and marginally annotated.

4. on the border of something.

   On the wings of butterflies, marginally located contrastive markings create false edges, helping to decrease detection by predators.

Other Word Forms

• supermarginally adverb
• transmarginally adverb
• unmarginally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of marginally¹

marginal ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

The Nasdaq ended slightly down and the broader S&P 500 marginally higher, but the Dow closed more than one percent higher, with observers saying that suggested a shift into industrial sectors.

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As great as was his obsession with DNA, Watson’s pursuit of, and failure to obtain, female companionship was a matter of only marginally less critical mass.

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A marginally more conventional film might have taken this transcript, discovered in 2019 among Hujar’s papers at the Morgan Library & Museum, and used it to stage the events of the day discussed.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But he is not even assured to play in Perth after chief selector George Bailey left the door marginally ajar for Labuschagne to open.

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—Bitcoin recovered marginally after falling below the key $100,000 level for the first time since June overnight.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• kind of 
• lightly 
• somewhat