barely

[ bair-lee ]
See synonyms for barely on Thesaurus.com
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.

  1. scantily; meagerly; sparsely.

  2. Archaic. merely.

Origin of barely

1
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English bærlīce; see bare1, -ly

usage note For barely

1. See hardly.

Words that may be confused with barely

Words Nearby barely

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use barely in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for barely

barely

/ (ˈbɛəlɪ) /


adverb
  1. only just; scarcely: barely enough for their needs

  2. informal not quite; nearly: barely old enough

  1. scantily; poorly: barely furnished

  2. archaic openly

barely

See hardly

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