marginable

a word used by the uneducated to mean 'marginal'

Cleaning scratched eyeglasses will only result in a marginable improvement.

by Blitz$M.Inc.$ June 13, 2010

CoDependent Marginal Personality

Having unhealthy emotional attachments to people, pets, and possibly inanimate objects.

Miyoko is so CoDependent Marginal Personality with her cats, that she will not let the Veterinarian obtain a temperature, for fear of him hurting Fluffy.

by DannyAnnieBeauFanny January 31, 2009

marginal propensity to consume

*noun*; in Keynesian economics, the rate at which aggregate consumption rises in response to a rise in national income.

For example, suppose the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) is 0.95. If the national income is 100 billion dollars, and it rises 10%, then consumption will rise by 9.5 billion, and saving will rise by 0.5 billion.

If this theory is correct, then an expanding economy will suffer insufficient demand for its own output, and a recession will be inevitable.

This is why national governments respond to recessions with deficit spending: they are trying to counteract the MPC's effect on aggregate demand, and bring it in line with potential output.

Not only is the marginal propensity to consume weaker in a wealthy community, but, owing to its accumulation of capital being already larger, the opportunities for further investment are less attractive...

J.M. Keynes, *The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money* (1936), Ch.3

by Abu Yahya March 3, 2009

diminishing marginal returns

phenomenon in which greater input of effort, money, etc. yields smaller results. Crucial part of the idea is that if you're using x to get y results (where y is the thing you want). then additional input a will yield additional results b, but not in the same proportion as before.

On average, before, you put in x to get y, so your yield was y/x. But if you increase x by amount a, then your results will be y + b, where

(y + b)/(x + a) < y/x

and this will only get worse.

Diminishing marginal returns (DMR) is used to explain why the supply curve in economics slopes upward, i.e., increasing the quantity supplied requires an increased price of most things.

Sometimes DMR is more than offset by "economies of scale," which allows more of a thing to be supplied more cheaply than a small amount.

At first his flowers and treats swept her off her feet, but then he had to do more and more lavish things to please her. It was a classic case of diminishing marginal returns.

by Abu Yahya June 3, 2009

marginalize

To opress; to blackball; to malign, smear, defame, or discredit; to lower public or private opinion--or the status--of an individual or group through hateful, deceitful, or misguided speech or action.

1. If you're a RACIST--regardless of YOUR color--you marginalize people on the basis of THEIR color.

2. "Let's marginalize Sarah--make her look like a stupid hick--that'll take her down a peg or two!"

by Shoe Fitter August 17, 2009

marginally

By a slight margin, barely, slightly.

Martha's entry was marginally better than George's.

by Erniee January 21, 2007

Marginal

Word describing a friend that is a taker and not a giver - someone that never shows up or pays for a tab or helps in any way. Not a true friend.

Thanks for showing at my birthday party marginal...I really appreciate it.

Russ is so marginal - jackass got drunk and missed dinner tonight - what the hell?

by B. Hanback January 14, 2010