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

After a giveaway to Lowry by Schmid at the left side of the net, Lowry quickly went behind the net for a wraparound and barely got the puck over the goal line past the stick of the diving Schmid. — Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026

Over the weekend, spectators gathered at Riyadh’s King Abdulaziz Racecourse for an evening of horse racing, despite the fact that the track is barely three miles from the airport. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026

Levine Cava said the state recently took transit funding away from the county, which barely saved 13 bus routes from elimination in its latest budget. — CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026

But our gathering has barely made a dent in the cove’s urchin numbers. — Joseph Ogilvy, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1513, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for barely

• unfairly
• fairly
• rarely
• squarely