demarcation

noun

de·​mar·​ca·​tion ˌdē-ˌmär-ˈkā-shən 

plural demarcations

1

: the marking of the limits or boundaries of something : the act, process, or result of demarcating something

the demarcation of property lines

2

: something that marks or constitutes a boundary

a demarcation line

: a marked or perceived distinction between one area, category, etc., and another

The ability to test a theory against physical evidence … has provided a useful demarcation between science and pseudoscience.

—Norriss S. Hetherington

Certainly no clear line of demarcation has as yet been drawn between species and sub-species—that is, the forms which in the opinion of some naturalists come very near to, but do not quite arrive at the rank of species.

—Charles Darwin

There has been much chatter in recent seasons about the great gender crossover, that deliberate erosion on the runways of a once-rigid demarcation between conventionally feminine and masculine clothes.

—Elizabeth Paton

… the continued presence in the modern imagination of a sharp demarcation between public and private space.

—AAG Abstracts

Synonyms

• discreteness
• discrimination
• distinction
• separation

Examples of demarcation in a Sentence

the lines of demarcation between art and entertainment are often blurry

Recent Examples on the Web

Private discussions on troop deployments to enforce a line of demarcation are ongoing. —Emma Ashford, Foreign Affairs, 18 Feb. 2025

The Hotline would argue the demarcation point wasn’t the competitive shift from non-conference play to the league season but, rather, the early-December injury to center Mo Krivas. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2025

And while that demarcation is clear enough, the realm of Speedmasters is otherwise vast and hazy. —Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Jan. 2025

The big change occurred somewhere around the Newport concert, and the arrival of the Beatles and The Stones, and the worsening of the Vietnam War, and the assassinations, and Woodstock, became demarcations of of a dramatic cultural shift. —Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1728, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for demarcation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation