barely

adverb

bare·​ly ˈber-lē 

1

: in a meager manner : plainly

a barely furnished room

2

: scarcely, hardly

barely enough money for lunch

Synonyms of barely

• slightly
• just
• narrowly
• hardly

Examples of barely in a Sentence

We barely spoke the entire time we were in the car.

There are barely any new features in this software.

There is barely a difference between the two.

Recent Examples on the Web

James’ longevity and productivity at the twilight of his career is so unmatched that even the idea that the James era could end soon barely even registers for some competitors. —Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026

Czechia starting pitcher Ondrej Satoria, a 29-year-old electrical worker whose fastball barely hits 80 mph, cemented his folk hero status in Japan by throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings against the home team in his final World Baseball Classic appearance. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 10 Mar. 2026

His fastball barely touches 80. —ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026

There’s a way to use vocoder and elicit emotion—see Bon Iver or Rosalía—but MORI’s technique shrinks the warmth of his bari-bass to a barely intelligible mumble. —E.r. Pulgar, Pitchfork, 10 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1513, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for barely

• unfairly
• fairly
• rarely
• squarely