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

The English dialogue for these films was often absurd and barely coherent, written to conform to the movements of the actors’ mouths. — Victor Garber, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026

Pocket calculators are superhuman but narrow, whereas the first large language models, though barely articulate, were general. — George Musser, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026

The fish is barely breathing, though its mouth opens and closes. — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026

However, once inside, that barely matters because you’re transported into another world. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1513, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for barely

• unfairly
• fairly
• rarely
• squarely