liminal space

[ lim-uh-nl speys ]

noun

1. a state or place characterized by being transitional or intermediate in some way: In the film, Venice is a liminal space where the real and imaginary meet.

   Motels are such liminal spaces—everyone there is either coming or going.

   In the film, Venice is a liminal space where the real and imaginary meet.

2. Informal. any location that is unsettling, uncanny, or dreamlike:

   The classroom when school is out for the summer is a liminal space.

Word History and Origins

Origin of liminal space¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

And yet people continue to move to Los Angeles, a place synonymous with liminal space — the space between who we are and who we want to become.

From Los Angeles Times

And nature’s most esoteric fractal you shall be in your pet-tree-kor travel jacket, cruising through the liminal space of LAX on the way to your next adventure.

From Los Angeles Times

While some characters pop up time and again over the course of the play, they often occupy a liminal space between dream and reality, reappearing at the scenes of other shootings or speaking from beyond the grave.

From New York Times

And yet people continue to move to Los Angeles, a place synonymous with liminal space — the space between who we are and who we want to become.

From Los Angeles Times

The Assembly member finds herself in a bit of a liminal space now, with more than six months to go until the election.

From Los Angeles Times