as in subtle
barely perceptible by a sense or by the mind
They studied how the subjects were affected by different sounds played at liminal intensity.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of liminal
As a death doula, a big part of the work is sitting in that liminal space rather than running away from it.
—
Nicole Stanton, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2025
Summer is a state of mind, and the micro-trends below occupy that liminal space between easy city polish and dreamy holiday dressing.
—Talia Abbas, Vogue, 17 May 2025
The ‘Just passing through’ players These are individuals to whom Old Trafford became a liminal space.
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 16 May 2025
Appropriately, the group's music often lifts you to a somewhat liminal state, swaying between altitudes and time zones.
—Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for liminal
Nicole Stanton, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2025
Summer is a state of mind, and the micro-trends below occupy that liminal space between easy city polish and dreamy holiday dressing.
—Talia Abbas, Vogue, 17 May 2025
The ‘Just passing through’ players These are individuals to whom Old Trafford became a liminal space.
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 16 May 2025
Appropriately, the group's music often lifts you to a somewhat liminal state, swaying between altitudes and time zones.
—Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for liminal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for liminal
Adjective
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The problem is that Flanagan—known for eerie but subtle horror films like Hush and Oculus and Netflix series like Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House—puts too many overly earnest quotation marks around what should be the most moving scenes.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
6 June 2025
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For games that ran mostly fine on the original Switch, the upgrades are more subtle but still impressive.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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Then came a ‘faint voice’ May 30, 2025 12:00 PM Read Next National Man vanished in remote national park 2 weeks ago, CO officials say.—
Daniella Segura,
Sacbee.com,
12 June 2025
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The image also shows faint, ghostly rings around Uranus.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2025
Adjective
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The movie unfolds from the perspective of an unseen spirit, who watches the domestic drama of a teen (Callina Liang), her brother (Eddy Maday) and their parents (Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan) – and sometimes makes their, ahem, presence felt.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
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Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip, 46, shared an unseen reel of photos from their wedding on the eve of their anniversary and Ines' christening, shouting out both family milestones.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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In a slight twist on the usual, the chefs not only get to choose their own sous-chefs, but only those sous-chefs have been flown to Italy for the occasion.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
13 June 2025
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Bure may not have meant it as a slight, but one of the more notable offenders was Growing Pains, which costarred her brother, Kirk Cameron.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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This financial inequity significantly impacts minorities, with approximately 26% of Hispanic consumers and 27% of Black consumers being credit invisible or unscorable, compared to 16% of White and Asian consumers, according to data from Oliver Wyman.—
Afshan Musani,
CNBC,
11 June 2025
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My work traces the invisible borders between myth and memory, body and land, the seen and the felt.—
Caterina De Biasio,
Vogue,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Liminal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/liminal. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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