border, frontier, boundary, borderline

[shabani]

Hi everyone,
Could anyone please explain the difference between border, frontier, boundary and borderline? I get very similar definitions in the dictionary. Can we say that borderline is more abstract?

Thank you.

 

[5jj]

I'll start. 'Borderline' is not often used for what separates one country from another. As a noun, it is used for what separates two classes or categories: The borderline between adverbs and prepositions is not as clear in some cases as writers used to claim it was.

'Boundary' can have a similar meaning, though it also has other meanings. 'Border' is rarely used in this sense, and 'frontier' never, in my opinion.

 

[shabani]

a similar meaning to your first or second definition?

 

[5jj]

A similar meaning to that of 'borderline'.

 

[birdeen's call]

Shabani, please scroll down all the way to the bottom of this page. You will see a box named "Similar Threads". I think you will find what you need there.

 

[BobK]

I'll start. 'Borderline' is not often used for what separates one country from another. As a noun, it is used for what separates two classes or categories: The borderline between adverbs and prepositions is not as clear in some cases as writers used to claim it was.

...

A particular use of this sort of 'borderline' is in reference to a disorder or pathology of some kind: 'He's very good with numbers and memorizing meaningless statistics, but useless with people. Sometimes I think he's borderline autistic.'

b

 

[BobK]

Afterthought: I had trouble thinking of an example yesterday, but I've just seen one - someone describing someone else's remarks as 'borderline racist' [=they were very close to being seen as racist].

b