barely

[ bair-lee ]

adverb

1. only just; scarcely; no more than; almost not:

   He had barely enough money to pay for the car.

2. without disguise or concealment; openly:

   They gave the facts to him barely.

3. scantily; meagerly; sparsely.
4. Archaic. merely.

barely

/ ˈbɛəlɪ /

adverb

1. only just; scarcely

   barely enough for their needs

2. informal.
   not quite; nearly

   barely old enough

3. scantily; poorly

   barely furnished

4. archaic.
   openly

Usage Note

See hardly.

Usage

See hardly

Word History and Origins

Origin of barely¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English bærlīce; bare ¹, -ly

Example Sentences

Then, with your fingers or tongue or teeth, you extract the tiny, firm seed, which barely tastes like anything.

From Eater

He also sat for a two-part interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, although the coronavirus barely came up.

From Washington Post

Notice that there’s barely a noticeable difference on September 2nd.

From Search Engine Land

In most other states which have been polled about as much as Florida — there’ve been 12 polls there since the start of the Democratic convention — they’ve seen far less of a change or barely any movement at all.

From FiveThirtyEight

There was not an inch of her body that was not in pain, and an incessant cough barely allowed her to breathe.

From Washington Blade

Indeed, as an almost purely advisory firm, Lazard is (appropriately) barely affected by the Dodd-Frank reforms.

From The Daily Beast

We were barely into the appetizer when he asked a fairly basic question—where did my family live?

From The Daily Beast

Throughout all the stories of loss and pain with the Chief, there was barely a trace of emotion.

From The Daily Beast

The star of the film was Glenn Ford, but I barely noticed him.

From The Daily Beast

But even when the jet will be able to shoot its gun, the F-35 barely carries enough ammunition to make the weapon useful.

From The Daily Beast

Then he cut away the knobs by which he climbed to it, until there was barely sufficient for his own tiny toes to rest on.

From Project Gutenberg

The hut was barely high enough to let him sit up, and long enough to let him lie down—not to stretch out.

From Project Gutenberg

Regular taxation, monopolies, mortgages, and loans barely sufficed to provide for the budget.

From Project Gutenberg

She was barely five feet five, but she ranked with tall women, her height as unchallenged as the chiselling of her profile.

From Project Gutenberg

Well might Sir Charles Hawkins hesitate to believe what the experience of sixty years has barely sufficed to make plain to us.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• almost
• hardly
• scarcely