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 Note

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. double negative.

Usage

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

This is hardly the first example of such a thing, as I detailed earlier this week.

From Washington Post

The bookmakers didn’t give Dallas much of a chance to win the Stanley Cup because Dallas hardly proved it was good enough to qualify for the playoffs, let alone win once it got there.

From FiveThirtyEight

Protesters took over roughly a six-block area in Seattle — hardly a “big chunk” or 20 percent.

From Washington Post

He Jiankui, the disgraced scientist behind the CRISPR babies experiment, was hardly coy about his plans.

From Singularity Hub 

Checking your website page by page is hardly practical, so you can use Google Search Console to check all your pages at once.

From Search Engine Land

The gunman hardly broke stride as he nonetheless shot Merabet in the head, killing him.

From The Daily Beast

This is especially striking, though hardly surprising, in the case of Priebus, Mr. Outreach.

From The Daily Beast

But locals there say any money deposited is thrown into an unlocked cupboard behind the tellers, hardly inspiring confidence.

From The Daily Beast

I was already over forty, had hardly a nickel in my pocket and this was the biggest break in my life.

From The Daily Beast

The grim instability of shelter life is hardly a recipe for success under the best of circumstances.

From The Daily Beast

Here is a chair, Monsieur Arden; but you can hardly see it until your eyes have grown a little accustomed to our crpuscula.

From Project Gutenberg

The doors (Indian bungalows have hardly any windows, each door being half glass) were open front and back.

From Project Gutenberg

You see, I am the city undertaker, and the people are dying here so fast, that I can hardly supply the demand for coffins.

From Project Gutenberg

"A camp-fire would hardly flash and die out like that, Sarge," he answered thoughtfully.

From Project Gutenberg

Felipe was so full of impatience to continue his search, that he hardly listened to the Father's words.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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