English Online Dictionary. What means barely? What does barely mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English baarly, bareliche, barely, barly, from Old English bærlīċe, equivalent to bare + -ly. Compare Danish bare (“only, just”), Norwegian bare (“only, just”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbɛə(ɹ).li/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈbɛɹ.li/
- Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)li
- Hyphenation: bare‧ly
Adverb
barely (comparative more barely, superlative most barely)
- (not comparable, degree) By a small margin.
- 1925, Walter Anthony and Tom Reed (titles), Rupert Julian (director), The Phantom of the Opera, silent movie
- ‘It is barely possible you may hear of a ghost, a Phantom of the Opera!’
- (not comparable, degree) Almost not at all.
- (Chicano, not comparable) Recently, just now.
- (not comparable, archaic) Merely.
- (comparable, rare) Openly, clearly, plainly.
Usage notes
It is grammatically a negative word. It therefore collocates with ever rather than never.
- Compare
- with
Synonyms
- (degree): hardly, scarcely
- (barely, almost not or not quite): hardly, just, only just, scarcely
Translations
Anagrams
- Barley, Braley, barley, bearly, bleary