scarcely

American

[skairs-lee] / ˈskɛərs li /

adverb

barely; hardly; not quite.

The light is so dim we can scarcely see.
definitely not.

This is scarcely the time to raise such questions.
probably not.

You could scarcely have chosen better.

scarcely British

/ ˈskɛəslɪ /

adverb

hardly at all; only just
ironic probably not or definitely not

that is scarcely justification for your actions

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

See hardly.

Related Words

See hardly.

Etymology

Origin of scarcely

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; scarce, -ly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Rovere, on the other hand, found the book to be “barren of ideas and imagination,” and “scarcely more interesting or enlightening than the day-by-day newspaper accounts.”

From Salon

Dupont ran in for a consolation score that the vast ranks of French supporters could scarcely cheer.

From BBC

With scarcely a right angle, and therefore no fixed point for my eyes to rest, the interior kept giving me differing impressions.

From The Wall Street Journal

They made scarcely a sound in the snow.

From Literature

They were so good for the entirety of the first half that you could scarcely see a way back for Celtic.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023