as in slightly
by a very small margin
the team lost another game, but at least they performed marginally better this time out
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Recent Examples of marginally
Missouri’s mid-decade redistricting only marginally changed the lines of the heavily GOP district.
—
Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2026
The stock was marginally higher in after hours.
—Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 26 Mar. 2026
The British prime minister is only marginally less disliked by Britons, with his net favorability of minus 48 one of the worst since YouGov started tracking this metric in the 1970s.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 25 Mar. 2026
And the chances of a rate cut only marginally improve for the final month of the year.
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
That advantage shrank marginally after Republican President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, providing a path to citizenship for millions.
—Gary M. Segura, The Conversation, 23 Mar. 2026
All of those were reasons for Opta giving them just a 10 per cent chance of making the final and a four per cent chance of retaining their crown, and only the latter figure moved marginally after the draw to five per cent.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
So kudos for making this killer-demanding AAA game marginally playable.
—Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
Gas prices did come down from their $5-a-gallon peak in June 2022, but experts say the G7 oil release helped only marginally.
—Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 10 Mar. 2026
Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2026
The stock was marginally higher in after hours.
—Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 26 Mar. 2026
The British prime minister is only marginally less disliked by Britons, with his net favorability of minus 48 one of the worst since YouGov started tracking this metric in the 1970s.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 25 Mar. 2026
And the chances of a rate cut only marginally improve for the final month of the year.
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
That advantage shrank marginally after Republican President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, providing a path to citizenship for millions.
—Gary M. Segura, The Conversation, 23 Mar. 2026
All of those were reasons for Opta giving them just a 10 per cent chance of making the final and a four per cent chance of retaining their crown, and only the latter figure moved marginally after the draw to five per cent.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
So kudos for making this killer-demanding AAA game marginally playable.
—Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
Gas prices did come down from their $5-a-gallon peak in June 2022, but experts say the G7 oil release helped only marginally.
—Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 10 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for marginally
Adverb
-
The image is tightly cropped, the carriage wheels slightly cut off.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Improvements included plenty of new alien ships to battle, as well as an invincibility ability for your ship to make the levels slightly less challenging.—
Daryl Baxter,
Space.com,
4 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Unaccustomed to living with someone like Sprinkles, Louise was nearly moved to tears by this delivery of weeds, but Lynn had barely noticed.—
Catherine Lacey,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The older son, Dustin, barely speaks, and baby James is wearing a grocery bag for a diaper.—
Francine Prose,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Marginally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/marginally. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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