EN

Synonyms for barely

15 synonyms
10 antonyms
1 meaning

adverb

Most common

hardly scarcely just only just

All synonyms

Adverb

1. Hardly — almost not at all

hardly, scarcely, just, only just, only, but, seldom, merely, simply, rarely, a little, slightly, a bit, scarce

Other

Antonyms

completely, fully, abundantly

All antonyms of barely →

Definitions

adv. 1
Almost not at all.
Yes, it is barely visible.

Example sentences

hardly He studied hard, hardly taking time out for lunch.
merely Love is merely a lyrical way of referring to lust.
seldom She is very careful, so she seldom makes mistakes.
scarcely She had scarcely finished speaking when he cut in.
scantily The magazine featured scantily clad models on the cover.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
barely		rising
hardly		steady
merely		falling
seldom		falling
scarcely		falling
scantily		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: but¹
4 letters: just¹, only²
6 letters: simply², hardly², merely², rarely², seldom², scarce¹
8 letters: slightly², scarcely², scantily³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (only² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: à peine
Italiano: appena
Español: apenas