How to use hardly in a sentence
40 example sentences · adverb, interjection
Hardly means barely, only just, almost not. Example: “They hardly ever watch television.”
Examples of hardly by meaning
adverbBarely, only just, almost not.
- They hardly ever watch television.
- It's hardly possible he could lose the election.
- Hardly did I arrive when he left.
adverbCertainly not; not at all.
- I hardly think they'll come in this bad weather!
- With this the second of three games in seven days for Stoke, it was hardly surprising to see nine changes from the side that started against Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday.2011 November 3, David Ornstein, “Macc Tel-Aviv 1-2 Stoke”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 27 Jan 2012
- It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, archived from the original on 01 May 2024, page 68
adverbWith difficulty.
- While in Chelsea, Anne Smiley pined, taking very hardly to her unaccustomed role of wife abandoned.1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 40
adverbHarshly, severely; in a hard manner.
- Only I wasn't at all pleased with that; I saw that he was simply sorry for me because I was so hardly treated by grandmother, and that was all.1918, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett, White Nights (Constance Garnett translation), page 51
- The War pressed hardly upon imaginative men in responsible positions.1928, Dorothy Sayers, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
interjectionNot really.
- I think the Beatles are a really overrated band. ― Hardly!
More sentences with hardly
- John hardly felt the needle prick his arm when the adept nurse drew blood.From the entry prick
- I added him as a friend on Facebook, but I hardly know him.From the entry friend
- It was so cold a day that I could hardly breathe outside.From the entry so
- Even with all the windows open, there is hardly a breath of air in here.From the entry breath
- Despite hardly having any energy to lift a pen, she left a legible note on the paper.From the entry legible
- The whole bell had to be recast although it had only one tiny, hardly visible crack.From the entry recast
- That obscure author's fans were a nerdy crowd which hardly ever interacted before the Internet age.From the entry crowd
- I hardly have enough left every month to pay the rates.From the entry rate
- The view here hardly rates a mention in the travel guide.From the entry rate
- The kids could hardly wait to tear the paper off their Christmas gifts.From the entry paper
- That guy’s got a great gig over at the bike shop. He hardly works all day.From the entry gig
- He has such an offbeat sense of humor that hardly anyone finds his jokes amusing.From the entry offbeat
- Floris grumpily yammered on about how the actors hardly deserved to be plaudited.From the entry plaudit
- Our boss is a mysterious man who hardly ever meets with us.From the entry mysterious
- Consider that we’ve had three major events and the year has hardly begun.From the entry consider
- The robot was so lifelike, Jack could hardly tell it apart from his sister.From the entry lifelike
- I feel I hardly know him; I just wish he'd communicate with me a little more.From the entry communicate
- I was so sleepy that I hardly took in any of the lecture.From the entry take in
- English people are travel junkies, but Americans hardly ever leave their state.From the entry junkie
- I can hardly hear you over the blare of the radio.From the entry blare
- Mainstream culture is hardly the monolithic block that its caricaturization often implies.From the entry monolithic
- The carnival games were unfairly difficult, and hardly anybody won a prize.From the entry unfairly
- I'm ready and raring to go. I can hardly wait to get there.From the entry raring
- After hearing his story I could hardly speak for the lump in my throat.From the entry lump in one's throat
- I can hardly remember my schooldays now that I have reached middle age.From the entry schooldays
- You spend as though you were filthy rich, when you hardly make ends meet.From the entry as though
- She was tempted to call his bluff, hardly believing that he would carry out his threat.From the entry call someone's bluff
- This transmission is so smooth and quiet that you hardly even notice a gear change.From the entry gear change
- My uncle gambled away his fortune, and now he hardly has a penny to his name.From the entry to one's name
- Please turn down that music. I can hardly hear myself think.From the entry hear oneself think
Meaning of hardly
- adverb Barely, only just, almost not.
- adverb Certainly not; not at all.
- adverb With difficulty.
Questions about hardly in a sentence
- How do you use hardly in a sentence?
- Hardly is used as an adverb and interjection. For example: “They hardly ever watch television.”
- What is a short sentence with hardly?
- “They hardly ever watch television.”
- What does hardly mean?
- Hardly means barely, only just, almost not.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hardly (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use hardly in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/hardly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.