borderline adj 1: of questionable or minimal quality; "borderline grades"; "marginal writing ability" [syn: borderline, marginal] n 1: a line that indicates a boundary [syn: boundary line, border, borderline, delimitation, mete]

borderline I. adjective Date: 1907 1. a. being in an intermediate position or state ; not fully classifiable as one thing or its opposite <a borderline state between waking and sleeping> b. not quite up to, typical of, or as severe as what is usual, standard, or expected <borderline intelligence> <borderline hypertension> c. characterized by psychological instability in several areas (as interpersonal relations, behavior, and identity) but only with brief or no psychotic episodes <a borderline personality disorder> 2. situated at or near a border <a borderline town> • borderline noun II. adverb Date: 1925 almost, nearly <borderline tacky> <borderline suicidal>

borderline
n. & adj.
--n.
1 the line dividing two (often extreme) conditions.
2 a line marking a boundary.
--adj.
1 on the borderline.
2 verging on an extreme condition; only just acceptable.

borderline n. & adj. --n. 1 the line dividing two (often extreme) conditions. 2 a line marking a boundary. --adj. 1 on the borderline. 2 verging on an extreme condition; only just acceptable.

29 Moby Thesaurus words for "borderline": ambiguous, bordering, boundary, bounding, coastal, determinant, determinative, determining, dubitable, equivocal, extreme, fringing, frontier, limbic, liminal, limit, limiting, littoral, marginal, open, problematic, rimming, skirting, terminal, threshold, uncertain, unclear, undecided, unsettled

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