barely

Meanings

1. 1adverbnot comparable

   By the smallest possible amount; only just managing to do or reach something.

   Grammar: Goes before the verb or adjective and has a positive meaning of just managing: she barely passed.

   Patterns

   • barely do something
   • barely enough

   She barely passed the exam, scoring one point above the line.

   We barely caught the last bus home.

   The room was barely big enough for two beds.

2. 2adverbnot comparable

   Almost not at all; to a very small degree.

   Grammar: Acts like a negative word, so don't add not: I could barely hear him, not I couldn't barely hear.

   Patterns

   • barely able to do something
   • barely audible

   He could barely hear the teacher from the back row.

   The music was barely audible through the wall.

   They barely know each other.

3. 3adverbnot comparable

   Used to say that one event followed another almost immediately.

   Grammar: Often in the pattern barely had X happened when Y happened.

   Patterns

   • barely had something happened when ...

   Barely had we sat down when the lights went out.

   She had barely arrived when the phone rang.

Common combinations

barely audible

Her answer was barely audible.

barely enough

We had barely enough money for the tickets.

barely noticeable

The scratch was barely noticeable.

barely able to

He was barely able to stand after the race.

barely alive

The plant was barely alive after the frost.

Synonyms and how they differ

hardly

Hardly is very close, but it more often stresses how unlikely or difficult something is, as in hardly ever.

scarcely

Scarcely is a more formal and slightly literary alternative to barely.

just

Just can mean by a small margin, as in just made it, but it lacks barely's sense of near failure.

only just

Only just is the closest everyday phrase and is used when something almost did not happen.

Opposites

Word family

bare adjective

without covering, or basic and minimal

barest adjective

the smallest or most basic

bareness noun

the state of being empty or uncovered

Commonly confused: barely or bearly?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “barely”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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