Definition Synonyms
Definition of barely - Reverso English Dictionary
Adverb
1.
degreealmost not at all
- He barely spoke during the meeting.
2.
amountby a small margin or degree
- She barely passed the exam.
3.
immediate sequenceDated UK immediately after another eventDated UK
- She had barely arrived when the show started.
Expressions with barely
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manage to survive or succeed with great difficulty
Many families barely get by on minimum wage.
struggle to cover basic living expenses
Despite working two jobs, she barely makes ends meet.
deal with only a small part of a subject
The documentary barely scratch the surface of the complex issue.
just begun to deal with a problem
We've barely scratched the surface of the city's traffic issues.
just sufficient to meet a need
The food was barely enough to feed everyone.
almost never utilized or employed
The old typewriter is barely used these days.
almost no people present in a place or situation
There was barely a soul in the park at midnight.
Origin of barely
Old English, bærlice (barley-like)
Terms with barely included in their meaning
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scarcity
almost not, barely
sufficiency
barely sufficient or adequate
minimal
barely meeting requirements
danger
situation where danger is barely avoided
indistinct
barely perceptible, not clear or strong
contact
just touching or barely meeting
faint
barely noticeable or indistinct
amount
indicates a small amount of something barely noticeable
minimal adequacy
barely useful but still worth having
narrow escape
barely succeed or escape with a very small margin
very tired
extremely tired and barely able to keep going
perception
barely perceptible or detectable
just barely
barely, by a narrow margin
low speech
speak in a low tone that is barely audible
barely surviving
in a way that barely keeps existing or working
barely enough
by a very small margin
barely sufficient
manage to live with just enough resources
achievement
barely manage to achieve something
barely succeed
manage to enter with great difficulty
pass barely
succeed with difficulty in a test or selection
surviving
barely managing to survive or succeed
achievement
barely manage to achieve something
financial pattern
repetitive pattern of barely covering expenses
adequacy
barely sufficient or adequate
Examples of barely in a sentence
The candle barely lit the dark room. There was barely enough fuel to reach town. I could barely hear the announcement. He barely finished speaking when the lights went out. The car barely stopped before the train passed.
View all translations of barely
Click below to see the appropriate translations facing each meaning.
- French:à peine, tout juste, ...
- German:kaum, knapp, ...
- Italian:a malapena, ...
- Spanish:apenas, por poco, ...
- Portuguese:mal, por pouco, ...
- Chinese:几乎, 刚刚, ...
- Japanese:ほとんど, わずかに, ...
- Arabic:بِالكَاد, بالكاد, ...
- Hebrew:בְּקוֹשִׁי, אַךְ בְּקוֹשִׁי, ...
- Russian:едва, только что, ...
- Ukrainian:ледве, насилу, ...
- Hindi:मुश्किल से, बस, ...
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