Synonym Game

borderline

[bawr-der-lahyn] Origin

bor·der·line

[bawr-der-lahyn]
adjective
1.
on or near a border or boundary.
2.
uncertain; indeterminate; debatable: not an alcoholic, but a borderline case.
3.
not quite meeting accepted, expected, or average standards.
4.
approaching bad taste or obscenity: He made several borderline remarks that offended them.
noun
5.
a person suffering from borderline personality.

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Borderline is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

Origin:
1865–70; border + line1


3. marginal, problematic, uncertain, doubtful.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To borderline
Collins
World English Dictionary
borderline (ˈbɔːdəˌlaɪn)
 
n
1.  a border; dividing line; line of demarcation
2.  an indeterminate position between two conditions or qualities: the borderline between friendship and love
 
adj
3.  on the edge of one category and verging on another: a borderline failure in the exam

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

borderline
1869, "strip of land along a frontier," from border + line. As an adj. meaning "verging on" it is attested from 1907, originally in medical jargon.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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