liminal

adjective

lim·i·nal ˈli-mə-nᵊl

Synonyms of liminal next

: of, relating to, or situated at a sensory threshold : barely perceptible or capable of eliciting a response

liminal visual stimuli

: of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : in-between, transitional

… in the liminal state between life and death.—

Deborah Jowitt

liminality

ˌli-mə-ˈna-lə-tē

noun

plural liminalities

The market, standing between the sacred and secular, the mundane and exotic, and the local and global, has always been a place of liminality … —

Jon Goss

Did you know?

Get in Between Liminal

Liminal is a word for the in-between. It describes states, times, spaces, etc., that exist at a point of change—a metaphorical threshold—as in “the liminal zone between sleep and wakefulness.” The idea of a threshold is at the word’s root; it comes from Latin limen, meaning “threshold.” In technical use liminal means “barely perceptible” or “barely capable of eliciting a response,” and it has a familiar partner with a related meaning: subliminal can mean “inadequate to produce a sensation or a perception,” though it more often means “existing or functioning below the threshold of consciousness.” Limen has served as the basis for a number of other English words, including eliminate (“to cast out”), sublime (“lofty in conception or expression”), preliminary (“introductory”), and the woefully underused postliminary (“subsequent”).

Examples of liminal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Brine flies thrive in one of the planet’s most bizarre and vanishing environments Brine flies thrive in strange, liminal habitats — not in freshwater, on land, or in the briny waters of the sea. —

Daniel Rothberg, Vox, 1 Oct. 2024 Regardless of the vast cultural and secular perspectives on death and afterlife, objects are ultimately a tangible bridge between the living and the dead, artifacts that live on in the liminal space past our own mortality. —

Livia Caligor, Architectural Digest, 31 Oct. 2024 The choices were all made to accentuate a timeless vibe, a party at an indeterminate rich person’s house in some liminal place between night and morning, inebriated and sober, loneliness and love. —

Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 4 Oct. 2024 Central Europe has long been a kind of liminal space, a fringe between empires. —

Chris Wallace, Travel + Leisure, 16 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for liminal