barely

American  

[bair-lee] / ˈbɛər li /

adverb

1. only just; scarcely; no more than; almost not.

   He had barely enough money to pay for the car.

2. without disguise or concealment; openly.

   They gave the facts to him barely.

3. scantily; meagerly; sparsely.

4. Archaic. merely.

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barely British  

/ ˈbɛəlɪ /

adverb

1. only just; scarcely

   barely enough for their needs

2. informal not quite; nearly

   barely old enough

3. scantily; poorly

   barely furnished

4. archaic openly

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Usage

See hardly.

Etymology

Origin of barely

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English bærlīce; bare ¹, -ly

Example Sentences

Higher inflation in Germany would hit consumer spending, the institutes said, weighing on an already weak economy that has barely grown since a burst of pent-up demand after the Covid pandemic in 2022.

From Barron's

Doncic scored his final points of the night on a two-handed dunk in transition, methodically jumping off of both feet before barely clearing the top of the rim.

From Los Angeles Times

Ziminsky said her thinking on 529s changed when her mother died six months into retirement, after a lifetime of saving in accounts she barely touched.

From The Wall Street Journal

He says he has barely spoken to his uncle since major protests in 2022 following the death in custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, who was accused of not wearing the compulsory hijab properly.

From BBC

But there’s almost nothing in “Galaxy” that even rises to the level of an attempted gag, and the movie is notably weaker than “The Super Mario Bros,” which was just barely watchable.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• almost
• hardly
• scarcely