{
    "term": "marginal",
    "partOfSpeech": "adjective",
    "academic": true,
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "small and not important",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a marginal improvement in weather conditions"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The story will only be of marginal interest to our readers."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The difference between the two estimates is marginal."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "slight"
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "relating to or resulting from small changes",
            "labels": "(economics)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "All three companies reported marginal revenue growth."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "not part of a main or important group or situation",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "marginal groups in society"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Welsh was considered a marginal language."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "won or lost by a very small number of votes and therefore very important or interesting as evidence of public opinion",
            "labels": "(especially British English, politics)",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a **marginal seat/constituency**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Their campaign targeted marginal constituencies."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They risk losing key marginal seats at the next election."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Politics"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "written in the margin of a page",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "**marginal notes/comments**"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "that cannot produce enough good crops to make a profit",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [],
            "topics": ["Farming"]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈmɑːdʒɪnl/",
                "audio": "ma/marginal/marginal__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈmɑːrdʒɪnl/",
                "audio": "ma/marginal/marginal__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late 16th cent.: from medieval Latin marginalis, from margo, margin- ‘edge’."
}