Synonyms of scarcely

scarcely

adverb

ˈskers-lē 

1

as in barely

by a very small margin

was scarcely able to walk after the near-fatal accident

Synonyms & Similar Words

• barely
• slightly
• just
• narrowly
• hardly
• almost
• marginally
• somewhat
• nearly
• minimally
• minutely
• by the skin of one's teeth
• approximately
• closely
• partly
• roughly
• scantly
• more or less
• plus or minus

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• substantially
• well
• significantly
• considerably
• quite
• easily
• vastly
• definitely
• plainly
• positively
• fully
• completely
• unquestionably
• greatly
• abundantly
• generously
• copiously

2

as in no

certainly not

I scarcely think that one person being sick is an "epidemic"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• no
• never
• hardly
• none
• nothing
• ill
• by no means
• nowhere
• nothing doing
• on no account
• noway
• nowise
• near

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• certainly
• surely
• completely
• absolutely
• definitely
• most
• quite
• very
• positively
• highly
• extremely
• exceedingly
• greatly
• clearly
• terribly
• really
• awfully
• enormously
• immensely
• plainly
• truly
• unquestionably
• mighty
• perfectly
• utterly
• rather
• somewhat
• doubtless
• slightly
• mostly
• hugely
• assuredly
• awful
• mightily
• more or less
• unequivocally
• hands down

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of scarcely

All four were victorious, their religious affiliations scarcely noted. — Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2026

But there’s something about the failures of The Last House that feel like an encapsulation of the state of American film in all its rudderless mediocrity in which humanity is scarcely explored and artistry is rarely found. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026

The legacy of Cold War innovation Not every secret Cold War project succeeded, but many reshaped military technology in ways their creators could scarcely have imagined. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2026

The great mystery of the Iran war is why that hasn’t happened—why, nearly five months later, oil prices have scarcely surpassed $100, even as countries around the world have been forced to dip into their oil reserves. — Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026