scarcely

adverb

scarce·​ly ˈskers-lē 

1

a

: by a narrow margin : only just

… had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open …

—Agnes S. Turnbull

b

: almost not

could scarcely see for the fog

2

a

: certainly not

could scarcely interfere

b

: probably not

… there could scarcely have been found a leader better equipped …

—V. L. Parrington

Synonyms of scarcely

• barely
• slightly
• just

Examples of scarcely in a Sentence

He could scarcely control his joy.

Scarcely a day goes by when they don't see or talk to each other.

He had scarcely enough money.

This is scarcely a time to laugh.

I could scarcely tell them they were wrong.

Recent Examples on the Web

Washington didn’t join the Europeans’ report on Navalny’s death, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio scarcely mentioned Russia at the Munich Security Conference. —Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 16 Feb. 2026

My mother described herself as looking like a scarcely-living pregnant skeleton. —Lesley Stahl, CBS News, 16 Feb. 2026

In reality Mars turned out to be far more hostile – an utterly dry dust ball with scarcely any atmosphere. —New Atlas, 15 Feb. 2026

For a film about jazz, there is scarcely a person of color in sight — a likely byproduct of its production context, though one that casts the text in intriguing relief. —Ben Croll, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing scarcely

• hardly/scarcely than

Kids Definition

scarcely

adverb

scarce·​ly

ˈske(ə)rs-lē, 

ˈska(ə)rs-

1

: by a narrow margin : only just

had scarcely made the train in time

2

a

: certainly not

could scarcely tell them they were wrong

b

: probably not

could scarcely have chosen a better leader