Meaning & use
borderline
Last updated
close to a limit or standard, especially in a way that makes something hard to classify as one thing or another.
See it in a sentence
His test score was borderline, so the teacher reviewed it a second time.
The film received borderline reviews, praised by some critics and dismissed by others.
A note on using this word
Borderline is often used before a noun to suggest something sits right at a dividing line, as in 'borderline case' or 'borderline personality.'
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
clear-cutdefinite
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