What does marked mean?
Marked describes something that has been labelled, marked for attention, or distinguished by a conspicuous feature. As an adjective, it commonly appears in expressions such as a marked difference, a marked increase, or a marked decline, where it means clearly perceptible and often larger or more important than usual. A marked tendency therefore suggests a trend that observers can readily identify, not merely a hypothetical possibility. The word can also mean visibly signed, tagged, or otherwise bearing a mark, as in marked documents or marked items. As a past-tense and past-participle verb form, marked describes the act of putting a mark on something, assigning it a grade, or identifying it as belonging to a category. Its force lies in the idea of contrast: a marked feature stands out from its background. The adjective is especially common in formal and analytical writing, where it signals a clear, noteworthy difference without necessarily assigning a positive or negative value. In judgments about people or things, it can additionally suggest conspicuousness or awkwardness.
Bearing a mark or label; clearly noticeable, conspicuous, or distinguishable from something else.
"The coastline showed a marked change after the winter storms."
Common in formal and analytical contexts, especially before words such as difference, increase, decline, and tendency.
To put a mark or label on something, assign it a grade, identify it, or alter its price.
"The teacher carefully marked each page of the essay."
This entry represents the past tense and past participle of mark.
A marked difference is not a vague difference; it is the one a reader is meant not to miss.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does marked come from?
The English word descends from Old English mearc, meaning a sign, boundary, or mark, and belonged to a Germanic word family that included forms such as Old Norse mǫrk and Middle Dutch merk. English subsequently developed marking, marked, and marker from this inherited noun and verb. The related forms margin, marginal, and demarcate came through Latin and French and refer to an edge, boundary, or the act of setting limits.
Related word forms
How marked is actually used
As an adjective, marked is especially common in formal and analytical writing and suggests a difference that is conspicuous or easily measured. In the verb form, it is the past tense and past participle of mark. The phrase marked down commonly refers to a price reduction; marked up can refer to an increase in price or, in editorial contexts, annotations added to a text.
Easily confused with marked
Marked means bearing a mark or clearly distinguishable, whereas market means a place where goods are sold or the activity of buying and selling.