borderline

English

Adjective

borderline (comparative more borderline, superlative most borderline)

1. nearly; not clearly on one side or the other of a border or boundary, ambiguous.

   He is borderline hypoglycemic and needs to monitor his sugar intake.

   I would rather hire a talented layman than a university graduate with borderline qualifications.

2. Showing bad taste.

   Your borderline remarks about my aunt's dress destroyed my evening.

Derived terms

• borderline personality disorder

Translations

not clearly on one side or other of a boundary

• Czech: hraniční (cs)
• Finnish: rajoilla (fi) oleva (fi)

• French: limite (fr)
• Portuguese: fronteiriço (pt) m, fronteiriça (pt) f

showing bad taste

• Finnish: epämääräinen (fi), rimaa (fi) hipova (fi)

Noun

borderline (plural borderlines)

1. A boundary or accepted division; a border.

   She lives on the borderline between reality and madness.

Translations

boundary

• Czech: hranice (cs) f
• Finnish: raja (fi), rajaviiva (fi)

• French: "sur les bords" (familiar)
• Portuguese: fronteira (pt) f