You use barely to say that something is only just true or only just the case.
Anastasia could barely remember the ride to the hospital.
It was 90 degrees and the air conditioning barely cooled the room.
His voice was barely audible.
She was an elfin-like girl who looked barely 10 years old.
Synonyms: only just, just, hardly, scarcely More Synonyms of barely
2. adverb [ADVERB before verb]
If you say that one thing had barely happened when something else happened, you mean that the first event was followed immediately by the second.
The Boeing 767 had barely taxied to a halt before its doors were flung open.
Barely had she recovered from this trauma when Martin contracted whooping cough.
barely in British English
(ˈbɛəlɪ)
adverb
1.
only just; scarcely
barely enough for their needs
2. informal
not quite; nearly
barely old enough
3.
scantily; poorly
barely furnished
4. archaic
openly
▶ USAGE Since barely, hardly, and scarcely already have negative force, it is redundant to use another negative in the sameclause: he had barely had (not he hadn't barely had) time to think; there was scarcely any (not scarcely no) bread left
barely in American English
(ˈbɛrli)
adverb
1.
without covering or disguise; plainly
stating the unpleasant facts barely
2.
only just; no more than
barely enough to eat
3.
meagerly; scantily
a barely furnished room
Examples of 'barely' in a sentence
barely
Our son who barely spoke had just uttered a really complex thought.
The Sun (2016)
Half said they barely know those next door.
The Sun (2016)
She was fired, but barely seemed to notice.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He'd barely recognise the old place now.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
And as it turned out, he could barely miss from just a few yards out.
The Sun (2016)
The animal enclosures, barely big enough for their inhabitants to turn around in, sit behind the towering circus tent.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
By then, I could barely remember what it was like to feel well.
The Sun (2016)
The band were so slick that you barely noticed them.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Her old self is barely visible under deep layers of padding.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You have not had the habit for so long you can barely remember it.
Pete Cohen and Sten Cummins with Jennai Cox HABIT BUSTING: A 10-step plan that will change your life (2002)
They had to ask him questions about how he was while he just stood there barely speaking.
The Sun (2015)
Those who remember her arrival on the circuit say that they barely recognise the player now.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
We could barely see or hear each other.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Her voice lowers to barely above a whisper.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
You would barely know he was breathing.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
She had barely noticed his agony and she had certainly not experienced overwhelming desire.
Christina Dodd SOMEDAY MY PRINCE (1999)
America was barely forty years old when the iron horse galloped into national life.
Goddard, Stephen B. Getting There: The Epic Struggle between Road and Rail in the American Century (1994)
Yesterday she said she barely remembered being ill.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Social care must be about more than just keeping people barely alive.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
He barely brought in enough money to support his large family.
Christianity Today (2000)
They say that you barely feel your first shark bite.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
He has lost his voice and was barely audible.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Rugby players can brawl on a weekly basis and the world barely notices.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
She claims she barely remembers it because she was so happy at school.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Those qualities were instead projected on to a father he had barely known and a figure he invented in fiction.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The match was barely three minutes old when the 24-year-old skied an effort from close range.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In other languages
barely
British English: barely /ˈbɛəlɪ/ ADVERB
You use barely to say that something is only just true or possible.
She could barely remember going to the hospital.
American English: barely
Arabic: لا يُكَادُ
Brazilian Portuguese: mal
Chinese: 几乎不能
Croatian: jedva
Czech: sotva
Danish: knap dårligt nok
Dutch: nauwelijks
European Spanish: apenas
Finnish: hädin tuskin
French: à peine
German: kaum
Greek: μόλις
Italian: appena
Japanese: かろうじて
Korean: 간신히
Norwegian: såvidt
Polish: zaledwie
European Portuguese: mal
Romanian: abia
Russian: едва
Latin American Spanish: apenas
Swedish: knappt
Thai: เกือบไม่พอ
Turkish: ucu ucuna
Ukrainian: ледь
Vietnamese: chỉ vừa đủ
Chinese translation of 'barely'
barely
(ˈbɛəlɪ)
adv
(= scarcely) 几(幾)乎不 (jīhū bù)
(adverb)
Definition
only just
His voice was barely audible.
Synonyms
only just
just
He could just reach the man's head with his right hand.
hardly
Nick, on the sofa, hardly slept.
scarcely
He could scarcely breathe.
at a push
almost not
Opposites
completely
,
amply
,
fully
,
profusely
Additional synonyms
in the sense of hardly
Definition
scarcely
Nick, on the sofa, hardly slept.
Synonyms
barely,
only just,
scarcely,
just,
faintly,
with difficulty,
infrequently,
with effort,
at a push (British, informal),
almost not
in the sense of just
Definition
barely
He could just reach the man's head with his right hand.