hardly

English Online Dictionary. What means hardly‎? What does hardly mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English hardely, hardliche, from Old English heardlīċe (“boldly; hardily; without ease; in a way that causes pain; not easily; only by degrees”), equivalent to hard +‎ -ly. Compare Dutch hardelijk, German härtlich.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑːdli/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑɹdli/

Adverb

hardly (comparative hardlier or more hardly, superlative hardliest or most hardly)

1. (degree) Barely, only just, almost not.
2. Certainly not; not at all.
3. (now rare) With difficulty.
   • , Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.234:

     And what gentle flame soever doth warme the heart of young virgins, yet are they hardly drawne to leave and forgoe their mothers, to betake them to their husbands […].
4. (manner, archaic) Harshly, severely; in a hard manner.
5. (manner, obsolete) Firmly, vigorously, with strength or exertion.
   • , Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.148:

     Let him hardly be possest with an honest curiositie to search out the nature and causes of all things […].

Usage notes

• In the modern sense "barely", it occurs before the verb, and is grammatically a negative word. It therefore collocates with ever rather than never.
  • Compare example sentence with I almost never watch television
  • Because of the anomalous sense of this word, expressions such as "hardly working" have an opposite meaning to what the etymology ("hard" + "-ly") would suggest. "Working hard" suggests that considerable work is being done, whereas "hardly working" suggests that very little work is being done.

Synonyms

• (barely, almost not or not quite): barely, just, only just, scarcely

Derived terms

Translations

Interjection

hardly

1. Not really.

References

• “hardly”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.