barely
Syllables: bare·ly/ˈbɛə.li/
More pronunciations (2)Fewer pronunciations
British/ˈbɛːlɪj/
barely adverb: by a small margin.
Adverb
barely (comparative more barely, superlative most barely)
- By a small margin.
- I barely completed my homework. However, I got a score of 5 for it.
- It becomes, therefore, no inconsiderable part of science barely to know the different operations of mind,1748, [David Hume], Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, part VIII
- Almost not at all.
- The plane is so far away now I can barely see it.
- Yes, it is barely visible.
- Recently, just now.
- I barely got to the store.
- Merely.
- Now that fire do's not alwayes barely separate the Elementary parts, but sometimes at least alter also the Ingredients of Bodies […]1661, Robert Boyle, The Sceptical Chymist, page 29
- Openly, clearly, plainly.
- Firſt here is the Reſurrection of our Saviour barely and poſitively affirmed, whom God hath raiſed up.a. 1671, John Hacket, “The First Sermon upon the Resurrection”, in A Century of Sermons upon Several Remarkable Subjects: […], London: […] Andrew Clark for Robert Scott, […], published 1675, page 549
- And the same feeling appears in the following reign; in 1380 the commons petitioned against the plurality of wars; from time to time we have seen them vigorously endeavouring to limit, direct, and audit the expenditure on the wars, and even attempting to draw distinctions between the national and...1875, William Stubbs, “Royal Prerogative and Parliamentary Authority”, in The Constitutional History of England in Its Origin and Development (Clarendon Press Series), volume II, Oxford, Oxfordshire...
barely meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
barely in Tamil
- எப்போதாவது, மிக அரிதாகவே, பத்தாமல் இருத்தல், ஆடையின்றி, உண்மையான வடிவத்துடன், வெளிப்படையாக
barely in Urdu
- بہ مشکل, صاف صاف
barely in Bengali
- সবে, মাত্র, সবে মাত্র, কেবল
barely in Malayalam
- കഷ്ടിച്ച്
More languagesFewer languages
- barely in Kannada
- ಕೇವಲವಾಗಿ, ಮುಚ್ಚುಮರೆ ಇಲ್ಲದೆ
- barely in Arabic
- بِٱلْكَاد bi-l-kād
- barely in Persian
- بزحمت bezahmat, بسختی besaxti
Examples of barely in a sentence
- As our train to Paris dashed through the labyrynthine flyovers at Porchefontaine, barely a mile from Versailles, the 75 m.p.h. limit was already almost attained.1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 670:
- Remember, I haven’t tried to embroider; I’m just laying the facts barely before you—as barely as I can—to make what you please out of.1918 October, Arthur Johnson, “The Little Family”, in Harper’s Monthly Magazine, volume CXXXVII, number 821, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper...
- The precepts are stated barely and directly.1948, William Van O’Connor, “The Employment of Myths”, in Sense and Sensibility in Modern Poetry, Chicago, Ill.: The University of Chicago...
Synonyms of barely
Forms of barely
| comparative | more barely |
|---|---|
| superlative | most barely |
Origin of barely
From Middle English baarly, bareliche, barely, barly, from Old English bærlīċe, equivalent to bare + -ly. Compare Danish bare (“only, just”), Norwegian bare (“only, just”).
Words that rhyme with barely
Questions about barely
- What does barely mean?
- Barely means by a small margin.
- What is barely in Tamil?
- Barely in Tamil is எப்போதாவது, மிக அரிதாகவே, பத்தாமல் இருத்தல். See Barely meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use barely in a sentence?
- As our train to Paris dashed through the labyrynthine flyovers at Porchefontaine, barely a mile from Versailles, the 75 m.p.h. limit was already almost attained.
- What part of speech is barely?
- Barely is an adverb.
- How do you pronounce barely?
- Barely is pronounced /ˈbɛə.li/ (UK).
Words near barely in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: barely (page history and authors); barely (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); barely (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); barely (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); barely (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); barely (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “barely.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/barely. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.