hardly ever

Idioms  

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.

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Example Sentences

I had seen him juggling as many as four balls before, many a time, and he had hardly ever dropped one.

From Literature

Tansy could ring the real bell-tower bell now, but she’d fallen in love with that durn cowbell, which was hardly ever out of her hand.

From Literature

Fa had hardly ever talked about his family, but Torak knew their names, and where they’d come from.

From Literature

"But mainly, nobody cared," she said, adding: "I never get recognised in Ponty hardly ever."

From BBC

I hardly ever find really good antiquing things there, because those are at antique stores and they’re usually pretty pricey.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• a few times
• hardly
• occasionally
• rarely
• scarcely
• sometimes
• sporadically