marginally
Americanadverb
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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.
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at a barely adequate level.
The shelter offers shower and laundry facilities for homeless and marginally housed adults.
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in the margin of a page.
It is obvious that Jack London read these books, as they are marked, underlined, and marginally annotated.
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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
Etymology
Origin of marginally
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.
Their chart shows the biggest five stocks in the U.S. now have a price-to-earnings ratio that’s just marginally higher than the other 495 stocks, eliminating the premium they have consistently enjoyed since 2017.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
It has been two years since Chelsea signed a player older than Lacroix, and Tosin Adarabioyo was only marginally older when he arrived three months before turning 27.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Treasury yields across maturities are trading at or near multimonth highs in Asian trade, only marginally higher on the day, as oil prices continued rising.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
There were also losses in Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Bangkok, while Tokyo was marginally lower.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Just doing that made Pattie feel marginally better.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
