marginally
Americanadverb
-
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.
-
at a barely adequate level.
The shelter offers shower and laundry facilities for homeless and marginally housed adults.
-
in the margin of a page.
It is obvious that Jack London read these books, as they are marked, underlined, and marginally annotated.
-
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.
White victims, who were far fewer in number, also decreased slightly from 28 to 22, while victims whose race was listed as Asian, Middle Eastern or “other” have decreased marginally, from 7 to 6.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Wind power was the largest generator of electricity in Britain last year, accounting for almost 30% of all power, marginally above gas.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
The Dow ended up one percent and the Nasdaq was marginally lower.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
A slight surplus of 100,000 sellers meant the market only marginally favored buyers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
It’s never this loud when the Commandant is in attendance, and I relax marginally, glad to avoid her.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
