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

See hardly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of barely¹

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

Example Sentences

But Mr. Cuomo trails badly with the election barely three weeks away.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Trojans drove 75 yards in 11 plays in barely six minutes, scoring to take the lead on a two-yard flick to a wide-open Ja’Kobi Lane.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"I've barely raced this season so it was probably less of a struggle for me to go out there and want to give it something," said Hodgkinson, 23.

Read more on BBC

You wouldn’t know it from the headlines of the past week about bullion’s record, but it’s just barely at a new high after inflation.

Read more on Barron's

But once she recovered, the barely 5-foot-tall firebrand was plenty mobile in her Loyola maroon Nikes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• almost 
• hardly 
• scarcely