hardly, scarcely, barely

hardly, scarcely, barely
These three adverbs imply the doing or accomplishing of something by the narrowest of margins: "The injured man was hardly (scarcely, barely) able to move his lips." What slight difference exists among them is that hardly suggests difficulty, the hardness of something (My lungs hurt so much that I could hardly breathe); scarcely suggests a margin so small as to be almost unbelievable (You would scarcely believe he could be so stupid); and barely stresses the idea of narrowness and thinness (He barely passed the examination). All three words have a negative quality and should not be used with another negative; do not say "hardly never," "scarcely never," "couldn't hardly," "wouldn't scarcely," and "not barely." See also double negative.

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • barely — See hardly. See hardly, scarcely, barely …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • scarcely — See hardly, scarcely, barely See scarce, scarcely …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • hardly — See hardly, scarcely, barely …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • Hardly — Hard ly (h[aum]rd l[y^]), adv. [AS. heardlice. See {Hard}.] [1913 Webster] 1. In a hard or difficult manner; with difficulty. [1913 Webster] Recovering hardly what he lost before. Dryden. [1913 Webster] 2. Unwillingly; grudgingly. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hardly — ► ADVERB 1) scarcely; barely. 2) only with great difficulty. 3) no or not (suggesting surprise at or disagreement with a statement) …   English terms dictionary

  • hardly — [[t]hɑ͟ː(r)dli[/t]] ♦♦ 1) ADV BRD NEG: ADV before v, ADV group, oft ADV amount (emphasis) You use hardly to modify a statement when you want to emphasize that it is only a small amount or detail which makes it true, and that therefore it is best… …   English dictionary

  • hardly — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) adv. scarcely, barely; improbably; rarely. See rarity, difficulty. II (Roget s IV) modif. Syn. scarcely, barely, just, merely, detectably, infinitesimally, perceptibly, imperceptibly, noticeably, not… …   English dictionary for students

  • barely — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) adv. only, just. See narrowness. II (Roget s IV) modif. Syn. almost, scarcely, just; see hardly . III (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) adv. hardly, scarcely, just, slightly, merely. IV (Roget s Thesaurus II)… …   English dictionary for students

  • hardly — adverb 1》 scarcely; barely.     ↘only with great difficulty.     ↘no or not (suggesting surprise at or disagreement with a statement). 2》 archaic harshly. Usage Words like hardly, scarcely, and rarely should not be used with negative… …   English new terms dictionary

  • barely — bare|ly [ berli ] adverb ** 1. ) used for saying that something almost does not happen or exist, or is almost not possible: HARDLY, SCARCELY: The roads were barely wide enough for two cars to pass. There was barely a scratch on his car, but mine… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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