submarginal
Americanadjective
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Biology. near the margin.
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below the margin.
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not worth cultivating, as land; less than satisfactory; unproductive.
adjective
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below the minimum requirements
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situated close to the margin of an organ or part
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(of land) infertile and unprofitable for cultivation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of submarginal
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.
Only on such minor policies as transportation, reciprocal trade pacts, retirement of submarginal land and direct subsidies for shipping did the Chamber support the President.
From Time Magazine Archive
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When World War I threatened its manganese supply, the U. S. increased purchases of ore from Cuba and Brazil, began working its own submarginal deposits.
From Time Magazine Archive
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He also campaigned tirelessly to educate Southerners in the economic importance of growing timber on submarginal Texas farm land.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Later Mr. Morgenthau headed the State Conservation Commission, and Professor Warren, again a member, surveyed the marginal and submarginal lands of the State, made recommendations on which Governor Roosevelt based his reforestation program.
From Time Magazine Archive
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They and the coyotes lived clever, despairing, submarginal lives.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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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.