marginalize
verb
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Marginalized Writing vs. Marginalized People
Marginalize provides a striking case of how thoroughly the figurative use of a word can take over the literal one. The original (and now obsolete) meaning of this word, “to write notes in the margin of,” is analogous to the still-familiar noun marginalia, “marginal notes or embellishments." A margin is, of course, the blank space surrounding the text in a book. Just prior to 1970, marginalize took on the sense that is most commonly encountered today, “to relegate to an unimportant or powerless position” (that is, to the metaphorical margins of society). This use of the verb can be found as far back as 1968; an article in The Los Angeles Times from June 20th of that year reports, “[T]he Negro was kept aside, marginalized, thus composing in its large majority the chronically poor.” In its newer sense, marginalize has assumed a much more prominent place in the vocabulary than it once had.
Examples of marginalize in a Sentence
Jeff Hobbs, Time, 10 Apr. 2025
Black Muslim female workers, for example, feel three times marginalized – feeling at risk for gender, racial and religious discrimination – our study found.
—Denise Daniels, The Conversation, 10 Apr. 2025
But with Dermer now in charge and intelligence leaders marginalized, those dissenting views have featured less prominently in Israeli security discussions and in Israeli press reports.
—Alex Marquardt, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
However, what mattered most to me was finding a group that had been largely marginalized by protesters this time: hijabi women and those from traditional households with a strong affinity for the Qur’an and religious teachings.
—Rebecca Ruth Gould, JSTOR Daily, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for marginalize
Cite this Entry
“Marginalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marginalize. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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marginalize
verb
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