hardly

[hahrd-lee]

adverb

1. only just; almost not; barely.

   We had hardly reached the lake when it started raining. hardly any; hardly ever.

2. not at all; scarcely.

   That report is hardly surprising.

3. with little likelihood.

   He will hardly come now.

4. forcefully or vigorously.

5. with pain or difficulty.

6. British.,  harshly or severely.

7. hard.

hardly

/ ˈhɑːdlɪ /

adverb

1. scarcely; barely

   we hardly knew the family

2. just; only just

   he could hardly hold the cup

3. ironic,  almost or probably not or not at all

   he will hardly incriminate himself

4. with difficulty or effort

5. rare,  harshly or cruelly

Usage

Hardly, barely, and scarcely all have a negative connotation, and the use of any of them with a negative like can't or couldn't is often condemned as a double negative and thus considered nonstandard: I can't hardly wait. Such constructions do occur occasionally in the speech of educated persons, often with jocular intent ( You can't hardly get that kind any more ) but are not found in formal speech or writing. When hardly in the sense “only just, almost not” is followed by a clause, the usual word to introduce the clause is when: The telephone had hardly stopped ringing when (not than ) the doorbell rang. See also double negative.

Since hardly, scarcely, and barely already have negative force, it is redundant to use another negative in the same clause: he had hardly had (not he hadn't hardly had ) time to think; there was scarcely any (not scarcely no ) bread left

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardly¹

1175–1225; Middle English; Old English heardlice. See hard, -ly

Synonym Study

Hardly, barely, scarcely imply a narrow margin by which performance was, is, or will be achieved. Hardly, though often interchangeable with scarcely and barely, usually emphasizes the idea of the difficulty involved: We could hardly endure the winter. Barely emphasizes the narrowness of the margin of safety, “only just and no more”: We barely succeeded. Scarcely implies a very narrow margin, below satisfactory performance: He can scarcely read.

Example Sentences

Now Australia go to the second Test in Brisbane, played in a day-night format they hardly ever lose.

Read more on BBC

There was hardly a second when I wasn’t enraged at someone or something.

Read more on Salon

He could hardly not admit that it made his task of recovering points and trying to keep the title alive even more difficult.

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Even for people who worry that the Ivy League’s banner game might lose some of its importance, the conference’s first season of playoff eligibility could hardly have shaken out better.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

There had been nothing going out on the West Coast mainline and hardly any announcements, she said.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• barely 
• comparatively 
• practically 
• rarely 
• seldom 
• simply 
• somewhat