as in slightly
by a very small margin
we barely made it to the church on time
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of barely
No matter your preferred silhouette, from spaghetti-strap fisherman sandals to barely-there flip-flops, look for a pair with virtually no soles to speak of this spring.
—
Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 6 Mar. 2026
That one, however, lasted barely a day.
—Marie-Rose Sheinerman, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
Davis has barely been out of prison for a year.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2026
Tokimonsta’s set had barely gotten underway when Magdalena Bay launched Friday’s final Day Dream Stage performance.
—Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barely
Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 6 Mar. 2026
That one, however, lasted barely a day.
—Marie-Rose Sheinerman, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
Davis has barely been out of prison for a year.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2026
Tokimonsta’s set had barely gotten underway when Magdalena Bay launched Friday’s final Day Dream Stage performance.
—Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barely
Adverb
-
Embrace the slightly dystopian vibe and buy a bag of pellets from one of the old-timey pioneer stores to hand-feed the furry descendants.—
Zoey Goto,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
-
By combining strontium doping and oxygen tuning, the team produced many slightly different versions of the material.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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What about Tyler Conklin, whose previous annual average value, per Sportac, was just about $3 million?—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Mar. 2026
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That’s why an X-ray telescope that would be superior in those regards has so much discovery potential just awaiting it.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
11 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Santee residents narrowly defeated the measure, with 52% of voters opposed.—
Hannah Elsmore,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Piastri, who grew up in Melbourne near the track, narrowly lost the world championship last year.—
Sahil Kapur,
NBC news,
8 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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While Cornyn is hardly a moderate by most standards, he is considered an establishment Republican.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The Super Bowl is over, but Bay Area Host Committee CEO Zaileen Janmohamed hardly gets a break.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Barely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barely. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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