Barely Adverb - Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation And Usage Notes

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Definition of barely adverb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

barely adverb   /ˈbeəli/  /ˈberli/ jump to other results

1.  in a way that is just possible but only with difficulty
   • He could barely read and write.
   • The music was barely audible.
   • She was barely able to stand.
   • We barely had time to catch the train.
   Topics Difficulty and failureb2

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2.  in a way that almost does not happen or exist
   • She barely acknowledged his presence.
   • There was barely any smell.
3.  just; certainly not more than (a particular amount, age, time, etc.)
   • Barely 50% of the population voted.
   • He was barely 20 years old and already running his own company.
   • They arrived barely a minute later.
4. only a very short time before
   • I had barely started speaking when he interrupted me.
   Grammar Point hardly / scarcely / barely / no soonerhardly / scarcely / barely / no sooner
   • Hardly, scarcely and barely can all be used to say that something is only just true or possible. They are used with words like any and anyone, with adjectives and verbs, and are often placed between can, could, have, be, etc. and the main part of the verb:
     • They have sold scarcely any copies of the book.
     • I barely recognized her.
     • His words were barely audible.
     • I can hardly believe it.
     • I hardly can believe it.
   • Hardly, scarcely and barely are negative words and should not be used with not or other negatives:
     • I can’t hardly believe it.
   • You can also use hardly, scarcely and barely to say that one thing happens immediately after another:
     • We had hardly/​scarcely/​barely sat down at the table, when the doorbell rang.
     In formal, written English, especially in a literary style, these words can be placed at the beginning of the sentence and then the subject and verb are turned around:
     • Hardly/​Scarcely had we sat down at the table, when the doorbell rang.
     Note that you usually use when in these sentences, not than. You can also use before:
     • I scarcely had time to ring the bell before the door opened.
     No sooner can be used in the same way, but is always used with than:
     • No sooner had we sat down at the table than the doorbell rang.
   • Hardly and scarcely can be used to mean ‘almost never’, but barely is not used in this way:
     • She hardly (ever) sees her parents these days.
     • She barely sees her parents these days.

See barely in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee barely in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishCheck pronunciation: barely

Nearby words

• bareheaded adjective, adverb
• bare-knuckle adjective
• barely adverb
• bareness noun
• barf noun

ailment noun From the Topic Health problems C1 Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day