How to Use barely in a Sentence

barely

adverb

• We barely spoke the entire time we were in the car.
• There is barely a difference between the two.
• There are barely any new features in this software.
• For some, taxes will barely be on the radar again until the new year.
  — Cincinnati Enquirer, The Enquirer, 28 Oct. 2022
• Many people still live along bumpy dirt roads, some in tin shacks barely bigger than latrines.
  — John Eligon, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Nov. 2022
• Doctors discovered that her neck muscles were so tight, her vocal cords were barely visible.
  — Eileen Finan, People.com, 18 Dec. 2024
• Trinity Rodman said that her mother struggled with money and that her father barely gave them enough to pay rent.
  — Doha Madani, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2024
• Philly’s curt 35-13 dismissal of Pittsburgh Sunday barely made a ripple.
  — Jason Gay, WSJ, 31 Oct. 2022
• Balfe did find the formality of the vows, which Claire can barely muster enough strength to verbalize as commanded, to be especially painful.
  — Hunter Ingram, Variety, 7 Dec. 2024
• That’s barely enough time to scratch the surface of this great European capital, with its world-class museums and cosmopolitan glamor.
  — Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 7 Dec. 2024
• The infotainment screen is barely bigger than some smartphones, and its interface seems PalmPilot inspired.
  — K.c. Colwell, Car and Driver, 4 Nov. 2022
• The Bears have a good secondary, but their defensive front didn’t sack Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott last week and barely had any pressure on him.
  — Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2022
• Enter Pelican’s plastic stick-on mount, a two-piece silicone holder, barely bigger than a postage stamp, that sandwiches the device and sports a sticky square of adhesive on the back.
  — Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2022
• The shorter sections at the back just barely grazed the nape of her neck.
  — Gabi Thorne, Allure, 13 June 2023
• Nichols sits in the dark against the car, barely moving.
  — CBS News, 30 Jan. 2023
• In fact, that setup turned out to be barely a third of the movie.
  — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2024
• This whole idea that teenagers barely work now is crazy to me.
  — Jamie Ludwig, Spin, 29 Sep. 2023
• By this point, the two of us were barely on speaking terms.
  — Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
• Since the midterm election, Frost had barely had the time to process his new life.
  — Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 9 Jan. 2023
• And now there's barely anything to talk and laugh about.
  — Phil Helsel, NBC News, 24 Sep. 2024
• Once again, one of the best parts of the skit is how Gosling can barely keep it together by the end.
  — Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
• Trull’s head barely clears the rafters once he’s settled.
  — oregonlive, 12 June 2023
• The former wife speaks so faintly that the new wife can barely hear.
  — Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
• The wobbly craft that the Wright Brothers built in 1903 flew, but barely.
  — Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2023
• This year, the day is underscored by the dour fact that the pay gap has barely budged in two decades.
  — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2023
• The offense hustled to the line, with Thorne barely able to spike the ball with 1 second left.
  — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 27 Nov. 2022
• That could lead to ice cream that’s gummy or fluffy, and barely tastes like dairy.
  — Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 7 July 2023
• If you're drawn to barely there perfumes, 11 11 should be on your radar.
  — Lindy Segal, Harper's BAZAAR, 18 Jan. 2023
• She was found barely alive in the bushes along a fishing trail in Puna.
  — Phil Helsel, NBC News, 30 July 2024
• Blue Dream’s harvest time is barely three months at nine to 10 weeks.
  — Rowan Briggs, The Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2024

Last Updated: 9 Jan 2025