barely

[ bair-lee ]

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.

barely

/ 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

Usage Note

See hardly.

Usage

See hardly

Word History and Origins

Origin of barely¹

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

Example Sentences

Perhaps more than anything, “Say Anything” captures the ideological fervor that often characterizes the very young: Marian was only 17 when many of the events in the series take place, and Dolours barely in her 20s.

From Los Angeles Times

That political divide is clearly dissolving, even if all the dislocations of the past eight years have barely budged the metropolitan economy from its perch.

From Slate

Laura, from Astley near Wigan, can barely believe what has happened to her as she recalls the events of the last 12 months.

From BBC

Sri Lanka’s 17.1 million voters head to the polls again on Thursday to vote in snap parliamentary elections, barely seven weeks after choosing a new president.

From BBC

Ms Sharma, who works with women in rural areas on health and economic empowerment in northern Uttar Pradesh state, found there was barely any provision for menopausal women at rural government clinics.

From BBC

Related Words

• almost
• hardly
• scarcely