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

Plastic is so woven into modern life that most of us barely notice it anymore. — Meggen Harris, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Bug’s ignition site was barely a mile east of the boundary of the Elephant Fire, which burned 13,930 acres last month. — Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026

The example up for sale also seems to have been barely touched since delivery, and has just 72 miles on the odometer. — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 10 Aug. 2026

And while the hack is a devastating event for those who got robbed, the episode affected only a relative handful of Bitcoin owners, which is likely why the broader crypto market barely moved. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1513, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for barely

• unfairly
• fairly
• rarely
• squarely