scarcely

adverb

scarce·ly | \ˈskers-lē

Definition of scarcely

1a : 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

2a : certainly not could scarcely interfere

b : probably not there could scarcely have been found a leader better equipped— V. L. Parrington

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about scarcely

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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

At the airport, Mooney could scarcely recognize his friend. — New York Times, "The Wounds of the Drone Warrior," 13 June 2018 Outside of Nationals fans, prospect nuts and Boone himself (more on that in a second), scarcely a soul had heard of Soto before a rash of outfield injuries summoned him to Washington for his major league debut on May 20. — Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, "Yankees-Nationals: Juan Soto rips go-ahead homer in game he started in minor leagues," 18 June 2018 The Senna is the latest salvo in the hypercar wars, delivering the latest set of scarcely believable, once-unthinkable telemetry: 0-62 mph acceleration in 2.7 seconds; ¼-mile of 9.9 seconds; 0-187 mph in 17.5 seconds; top speed 211 mph. — Dan Neil, WSJ, "2019 McLaren Senna: A Pet Racecar for Billionaires," 31 May 2018 But one voice is still scarcely heard: that of individual owners whose shares are held in funds and pension schemes. — The Economist, "The proxy-voting season kicks off on Wall Street," 12 Apr. 2018 Local authorities tended to look the other way when one of the youngsters, whose face could scarcely be seen over the steering wheel, was dispatched via pickup to the feed or farm supply store. — James C. Cobb, Smithsonian, "The Pickup Truck’s Transformation From Humble Workhorse to Fancy Toy," 3 July 2018 America spends more than 3% of the world’s biggest GDP on its armed forces, and the rest of the Western world scarcely breaks 2%. — Tony Abbott, WSJ, "An Ally Sizes Up Donald Trump," 13 July 2018 Scott has written op-eds and posted numerous times on Twitter about the faults of the Cuba deal, but has scarcely mentioned North Korea as President Donald Trump moved to meet with its dictator, Kim Jong Un, this year. — Gray Rohrer, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Rick Scott, vocal Cuba deal critic, mostly mum on North Korea deal," 12 June 2018 Hernandez scarcely mentions his Mets years at all, writing instead of his struggle to establish himself as an everyday big leaguer. — Steve Rushin, SI.com, "Keith Hernandez, Lou Piniella Focus on Humanity, Not Glory, in New Memoirs," 16 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scarcely.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.