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

Stranger still, the answer scarcely seems to matter. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025

With that depth, an Olympic swimming pool’s worth of water would cover scarcely less than the area of a football field. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025

Made mostly of muscle without a bone in their bodies, these wonderful weirdos can squeeze into spaces scarcely bigger than their eyeballs. —Kate Siber, Outside, 21 Oct. 2025

The Rams fixed their run defense during the offseason with development and additions like Nate Landman and Poona Ford, to the point that the Jaguars scarcely tried to run the ball Sunday even before the score got out of hand. —Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 20 Oct. 2025

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