only just; almost not; barely: We had hardly reached the lake when it started raining. hardly any; hardly ever.
not at all; scarcely: That report is hardly surprising.
with little likelihood: He will hardly come now.
forcefully or vigorously.
with pain or difficulty.
British. harshly or severely.
hard.
Origin of hardly
1175–1225; Middle English; Old English heardlice.See hard, -ly
synonym study for hardly
1. Hardly,barely,scarcely imply a narrow margin by which performance was, is, or will be achieved. Hardly, though often interchangeable with scarcely and barely, usually emphasizes the idea of the difficulty involved: We could hardly endure the winter.Barely emphasizes the narrowness of the margin of safety, “only just and no more”: We barely succeeded.Scarcely implies a very narrow margin, below satisfactory performance: He can scarcely read.
usage note for hardly
1, 3. Hardly,barely, and scarcely all have a negative connotation, and the use of any of them with a negative like can't or couldn't is often condemned as a double negative and thus considered nonstandard: I can't hardly wait. Such constructions do occur occasionally in the speech of educated persons, often with jocular intent ( You can't hardly get that kind any more ) but are not found in formal speech or writing. When hardly in the sense “only just, almost not” is followed by a clause, the usual word to introduce the clause is when: The telephone had hardly stopped ringing when (not than ) the doorbell rang. See also double negative.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH hardly
barely, hardly , scarcely (see synonym study at the current entry)
Words nearby hardly
hard line, hard-liner, hard lines, hard liquor, hard luck, hardly, hardly ever, hardman, hard maple, hard mass, hard money
This is hardly the first example of such a thing, as I detailed earlier this week.
The Trump administration’s politicization of coronavirus comes to a head|Aaron Blake|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
The bookmakers didn’t give Dallas much of a chance to win the Stanley Cup because Dallas hardly proved it was good enough to qualify for the playoffs, let alone win once it got there.
Teams Don’t Win The Stanley Cup With A Goal Deficit. Can The Dallas Stars Change That?|Terrence Doyle|September 16, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Protesters took over roughly a six-block area in Seattle — hardly a “big chunk” or 20 percent.
Trump’s ABC News town hall: Four Pinocchios, over and over again|Glenn Kessler|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
He Jiankui, the disgraced scientist behind the CRISPR babies experiment, was hardly coy about his plans.
A CRISPR Baby Future? New Report Outlines Path to Human Germline Editing|Shelly Fan|September 15, 2020|Singularity Hub
Checking your website page by page is hardly practical, so you can use Google Search Console to check all your pages at once.
8 major Google ranking factors — SEO guide|Sponsored Content: SEO PowerSuite|September 15, 2020|Search Engine Land
But locals there say any money deposited is thrown into an unlocked cupboard behind the tellers, hardly inspiring confidence.
ISIS’s Futile Quest to Go Legit|Jamie Dettmer|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I was already over forty, had hardly a nickel in my pocket and this was the biggest break in my life.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The grim instability of shelter life is hardly a recipe for success under the best of circumstances.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside|Justin Rohrlich|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That may be, but experts say that “similarities” to other attacks is hardly a slam dunk.
FBI Won’t Stop Blaming North Korea for Sony Hack -- Despite New Evidence|Shane Harris|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was a reminder that, as Beyoncé once sang, “Perfection is the disease of a nation,” and her family is hardly flawless.
Yoncé Said Knock You Out: The Solange and Jay Z Story|Kevin O’Keeffe|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As they entered the street it seemed as if they could hardly pass through.
Brenda, Her School and Her Club|Helen Leah Reed
There was hardly a prelate or royal chaplain in England who was not under ecclesiastical censure.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume V|John Lord
They could hardly get their lumber out, and there are very few people to sell it to if they put up a mill.
A Damaged Reputation|Harold Bindloss
He made no allusion to the events of the night before, and she hardly spoke at all.
The Reason Why|Elinor Glyn
I hardly think she has awakened to any slights put upon her by your set.
Money Magic|Hamlin Garland
British Dictionary definitions for hardly
hardly
/ (ˈhɑːdlɪ) /
adverb
scarcely; barelywe hardly knew the family
just; only justhe could hardly hold the cup
oftenironicalmost or probably not or not at allhe will hardly incriminate himself
with difficulty or effort
rareharshly or cruelly
usage for hardly
Since hardly, scarcely, and barely already have negative force, it is redundant to use another negative in the same clause: he had hardly had (not he hadn't hardly had) time to think; there was scarcely any (not scarcely no) bread left
comparatively, practically, seldom, barely, simply, somewhat, rarely, just, gradually, imperceptibly, infrequently, little, only, slightly, sporadically, by a hair, by no means, faintly, no way, not a bit