marginal utility
noun
Simple meaning
The amount that utility increases with an increase of one unit of an economic good or service.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mahrjuhnuhlyootihluhteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɑɹdʒənəljutɪləti
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
economics
The amount that utility increases with an increase of one unit of an economic good or service
economics
The additional utility to a consumer from an additional unit of an economic good.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: The amount that utility increases with an increase of one unit of an economic good or service
Used this way, marginal utility is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. This sense is about measurement, so it is used where accuracy is the point.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Academic writing
- Finance/economics
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.