borderline

[ bawr-der-lahyn ]

adjective

1. on or near a border or boundary.
2. having an uncertain, indeterminate, or debatable status:

   He was a borderline case for admission to the program—please encourage him to apply again next year.

3. not quite meeting accepted, expected, or average standards:

   Discover specific how-to strategies for turning a borderline student into a confident achiever.

   Synonyms: marginal, unsure, precarious, doubtful

4. approaching bad taste or obscenity:

   He made several borderline remarks that offended them.

noun

1. bor·der line.
   1. a border or boundary:

      The town of Tiverton, Rhode Island, rests on the once-disputed Massachusetts borderline.

   2. a notional dividing line:

      Often the borderline between safety and toxicity is very small, and every year thousands of fish die as a consequence of chemical overdosing.

2. a person with borderline personality disorder.

borderline

/ ˈbɔːdəˌlaɪn /

noun

1. a border; dividing line; line of demarcation
2. an indeterminate position between two conditions or qualities

   the borderline between friendship and love

adjective

1. on the edge of one category and verging on another

   a borderline failure in the exam

Word History and Origins

Origin of borderline¹

First recorded in 1865–70; border + line ¹

Example Sentences

And his anxiety and borderline depression were keeping him from calling anyone but his close friends.

From Los Angeles Times

“OK, that’s not a weak positive … and definitely not on the borderline where some tests would be positive and others negative,” he said after reviewing the test records.

From Los Angeles Times

He said students "on the borderline" felt the impact.

From BBC

I've written a lot of internal music - Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Nebraska, parts of The River - all about people who live these very intense, borderline violent, internal lives.

From BBC

"Everything about Tobias and Almut is so easy and sanitised, so positively twee and precious, that they are borderline unbearable to watch."

From BBC

Related Words

• marginal