Hardly Definition & Meaning

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    • Synonyms hardly American [hahrd-lee] / ˈhɑrd li /

    adverb

    1. only just; almost not; barely.

      We had hardly reached the lake when it started raining. hardly any; hardly ever.

    2. not at all; scarcely.

      That report is hardly surprising.

    3. with little likelihood.

      He will hardly come now.

    4. forcefully or vigorously.

    5. with pain or difficulty.

    6. British. harshly or severely.

    7. hard.

    hardly British / ˈhɑːdlɪ /

    adverb

    1. scarcely; barely

      we hardly knew the family

    2. just; only just

      he could hardly hold the cup

    3. ironic almost or probably not or not at all

      he will hardly incriminate himself

    4. with difficulty or effort

    5. rare harshly or cruelly

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

    Usage

    Hardly, barely, and scarcely all have a negative connotation, and the use of any of them with a negative like can't or couldn't is often condemned as a double negative and thus considered nonstandard: I can't hardly wait. Such constructions do occur occasionally in the speech of educated persons, often with jocular intent ( You can't hardly get that kind any more ) but are not found in formal speech or writing. When hardly in the sense “only just, almost not” is followed by a clause, the usual word to introduce the clause is when: The telephone had hardly stopped ringing when (not than ) the doorbell rang. See also double negative.

    Since hardly, scarcely, and barely already have negative force, it is redundant to use another negative in the same clause: he had hardly had (not he hadn't hardly had ) time to think; there was scarcely any (not scarcely no ) bread left

    Related Words

    Hardly, barely, scarcely imply a narrow margin by which performance was, is, or will be achieved. Hardly, though often interchangeable with scarcely and barely, usually emphasizes the idea of the difficulty involved: We could hardly endure the winter. Barely emphasizes the narrowness of the margin of safety, “only just and no more”: We barely succeeded. Scarcely implies a very narrow margin, below satisfactory performance: He can scarcely read.

    Etymology

    Origin of hardly

    1175–1225; Middle English; Old English heardlice. See hard, -ly

    Example Sentences

    Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

    The film was a snooze, hardly worth the actor’s mighty talents.

    From Salon

    But as admiring as “Cover-Up” may be about Seymour Hersh, it is hardly a paean to American mass media.

    From The Wall Street Journal

    His unpopularity helps argue their cause, but they hardly need that excuse.

    From The Wall Street Journal

    I am certainly not going to back them to win this one, but I am hardly confident about Palace's chances either.

    From BBC

    Rod Laver collected wisdom from Harry Hopman and the Aussies but hardly had an entourage.

    From The Wall Street Journal

    Related Words

    • barely
    • comparatively
    • practically
    • rarely
    • seldom
    • simply
    • somewhat

    Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

    Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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