scarcely

adverb

scarce·​ly ˈskers-lē How to pronounce scarcely (audio)
1
a
: by a narrow margin : only just
had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew openAgnes 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 equippedV. L. Parrington

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Despite giving up scarcely any power, the Glazers banked around £70million from the flotation, 50 per cent of the proceeds. Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 14 May 2025 His preferred model instead invokes the putative decay of another mysterious aspect of cosmology, dark matter—thought to be a substance that gravitationally binds galaxies together but otherwise scarcely interacts with the rest of the universe at all. Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025 Theorists could scarcely contain their excitement—or their profound puzzlement. Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025 De Zerbi has already taken his squad away from their home this season, after doing something similar in November, but the stakes now could scarcely be higher. Tom Williams, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for scarcely

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of scarcely was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Scarcely.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarcely. Accessed 29 May. 2025.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on scarcely

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