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

It comes barely a month after back-to-back typhoons killed over a dozen people and wrought damage to infrastructure and crops.

Read more on BBC

Mamdani managed to exceed—barely—the 50% threshold in a three-way field that his supporters believed would be essential to claim a mandate.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His family’s experience was typical: government officials barely mentioned the new law to the tribe.

Read more on Salon

Efforts to encourage us to recycle have barely budged the dial in Scotland, even though rates in the rest of the UK are higher - much higher for Wales.

Read more on BBC

But that barely covers his $2,000-a-month rent, even with help from his parents.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• almost 
• hardly 
• scarcely