scarcely

adverb

scarce·​ly ˈskers-lē 

1

a

: by a narrow margin : only just

had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open

—Agnes S. Turnbull

b

: almost not

could scarcely see for the fog

2

a

: certainly not

could scarcely interfere

b

: probably not

there could scarcely have been found a leader better equipped

—V. L. Parrington

Synonyms

• barely
• hardly
• just
• marginally
• narrowly
• slightly

Examples of scarcely in a Sentence

He could scarcely control his joy.

Scarcely a day goes by when they don't see or talk to each other.

He had scarcely enough money.

This is scarcely a time to laugh.

I could scarcely tell them they were wrong.

Recent Examples on the Web

One was Barbara Hemphill, a D.C. housewife whose husband’s job, at a nonprofit, scarcely covered the costs of raising three children. —Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024

The Duke of Sussex is himself scarcely in the five-part series as the couple take a step back from front-of-camera roles. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024

While Israel has taken the opportunity to destroy Syrian naval ships in the west, as well as buildings linked to chemical weapons outside Damascus, the fall of Assad and the rise of HTS could scarcely have gone better for the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. —David Hodari, NBC News, 11 Dec. 2024

Lawsuit alleges inaction on audit recommendations Rivera was also concerned that recommendations resulting from a $1.2 million audit, performed by Huron Consulting Group and aimed to improve operations, were scarcely implemented, according to the lawsuit. —Killian Baarlaer, The Courier-Journal, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing scarcely

• hardly/scarcely than

Kids Definition

scarcely

adverb

scarce·​ly

ˈske(ə)rs-lē,

ˈska(ə)rs-

1

: by a narrow margin : only just

had scarcely made the train in time

2

a

: certainly not

could scarcely tell them they were wrong

b

: probably not

could scarcely have chosen a better leader