scarcely
68
4.2
- adverb
- /ˈskɛr.sli/
:
apenas
- Anna seemed, perhaps, a little overexcited, but after all, she was scarcely more than a child.
- scarcely noticed
- scarcely a day
- scarcely knew
I was, you know, scarcely conscious.
- I was, you know, scarcely conscious.
- Then, if that is Russia's goal, then invading Ukraine could scarcely be more counterproductive.
- Her own grandparents could scarcely imagine the bounty of nutrition at her fingertips.
- He says that if we interpret these assertions in this way, they could scarcely do the job that they do.
- These break out into the language of a profound but scarcely intelligible wisdom.
- Inspiration fed their aspiration and having discovered abilities they scarcely knew they had, these athletes are now inspiring others.
- Ariadne the Minotaur scarcely defended himself, and we jump out of frame in that.
Examples
-
Her voice is so low I can scarcely hear what she's saying.
-
Some speak so fast that one can scarcely hear them, let alone understand what they say.
-
I prefer it to the French, although I understand scarcely a word of either.
Fiction book (1990) -
Oh, everything is so embarrassing, I can scarcely look one person in the face!
Fiction book (1990) -
Since I didn't know anything about construction practices, I could scarcely talk about their equipment.
Fiction book (1990) -
They're scarcely replying to our fire at all now, sir.
-
Her own grandparents could scarcely imagine the bounty of nutrition at her fingertips.
-
Sino-Russian relations will be normal, but scarcely intimate, with severe limits due to geography, economics, and politics.
Academic text (1991) -
When Annabelle became involved in a task, she could scarcely tolerate interruptions, as her staff well knew.
Fiction book (1990) -
Her voice is so low I can scarcely hear what she's saying.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To a very small degree
∞
1.0
Nearly but not completely
∞
1.0
By a very small amount
∞
1.0
Almost not able to do something
∞
1.0
Happens only by a very small amount
634
2.5
Almost but not completely
35
4.1
By a small amount
1
9.9
Only a very short time before something happens
Antonyms
How Little
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word scarcely comes from the adjective scarce, which means 'not enough' or 'rare', and is the same idea behind scarcity. So, if something happens scarcely, it happens 'only just' or 'almost not at all'.