marked
Americanadjective
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strikingly noticeable; conspicuous.
with marked success.
- Synonyms:
- prominent, obvious, outstanding, striking
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watched as an object of suspicion or vengeance.
a marked man.
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having a mark or marks.
beautifully marked birds; to read the marked pages.
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Linguistics.
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(of a phoneme) characterized by the presence of a phonological feature that serves to distinguish it from an otherwise similar phoneme lacking that feature, as (d), which, in contrast to (t), is characterized by the presence of voicing.
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characterized by the presence of a marker indicating the grammatical function of a construction, as the plural in English, which, in contrast to the singular, is typically indicated by the presence of the marker -s.
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specifying an additional element of meaning, in contrast to a semantically related item, as drake in contrast to duck, where drake specifies “male” while duck does not necessarily specify sex.
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occurring less typically than an alternative form, as the word order in Down he fell in contrast to the more usual order of He fell down.
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adjective
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obvious, evident, or noticeable
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singled out, esp for punishment, killing, etc
a marked man
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linguistics distinguished by a specific feature, as in phonology. For example, of the two phonemes /t/ and /d/, the /d/ is marked because it exhibits the feature of voice
Other Word Forms
- half-marked adjective
- markedly adverb
- markedness noun
- well-marked adjective
Etymology
Origin of marked
Explanation
Marked is an adjective meaning “clear” or “noticeable.” Filling your living room with pictures of pandas will show your marked appreciation for all things panda. The adjective marked can have several senses. In addition to meaning “very noticeable,” it can be used in relation to the noun mark, as in “to show a mark.” You may have also heard the expression a “marked man.” Marked in this sense means to have been chosen for punishment or a bad ending. Trip your opponent in this year’s field day sack race, and you will likely find yourself a marked man at the next contest.
Vocabulary lists containing marked
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 4
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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.
It marked the start of a run of five defeats without scoring, Chelsea's worst such sequence in 114 years, leading to his exit.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
For the Kings, it marked their 34th overtime in 84 games this season, an NHL record.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
Tim Cook will leave the CEO post after 15 years marked by supply-chain dominance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
Michael Truell, Cursor’s CEO, said on X on Tuesday that the arrangement marked a “meaningful step on our path to build the best place to code with AI.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026
Close inspection revealed that the door was marked with the faded numerals one and seven.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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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.