hardly ever

1. Also, rarely ever, scarcely ever. Very seldom, almost never, as in This kind of thief is hardly ever caught, or He rarely ever brings up his wartime experiences. The ever in these expressions, first recorded in 1694, serves as an intensifier.

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

It never stops and there’s hardly ever repetition.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Then again, A is a very common letter. With only twenty-six letters in the alphabet, they are all bound to turn up sooner or later. Although, come to think of it, one hardly ever sees a J. Why, Js are even rarer than Zs.”

Read more on Literature

Cannabis "flower" - or buds - have hardly ever been prescribed on the NHS since the law changed to allow it for medicinal reasons in 2018, but there is a growing private industry.

Read more on BBC

The second Test is a day-nighter and the Aussies, led by pink-ball genius Mitchell Starc, hardly ever lose under floodlights.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• a few times www.thesaurus.com
• hardly 
• occasionally 
• rarely 
• scarcely 
• sometimes 
• sporadically