How to Use barely in a Sentence

barely

adverb

• We barely spoke the entire time we were in the car.
• There is barely a difference between the two.
• There are barely any new features in this software.
• The shorter sections at the back just barely grazed the nape of her neck.
  — Gabi Thorne, Allure, 13 June 2023
• In fact, that setup turned out to be barely a third of the movie.
  — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2024
• This whole idea that teenagers barely work now is crazy to me.
  — Jamie Ludwig, Spin, 29 Sep. 2023
• By this point, the two of us were barely on speaking terms.
  — Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
• Once again, one of the best parts of the skit is how Gosling can barely keep it together by the end.
  — Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
• Trull’s head barely clears the rafters once he’s settled.
  — oregonlive, 12 June 2023
• The former wife speaks so faintly that the new wife can barely hear.
  — Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
• That could lead to ice cream that’s gummy or fluffy, and barely tastes like dairy.
  — Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 7 July 2023
• Even a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on the city in recent months barely made a dent.
  — Francesca Ebel, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
• What’s more, the car has barely been touched since leaving the factory.
  — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 5 Jan. 2024
• She’s tried three times to pass it, and always barely misses.
  — Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024
• What a run for Paul Maurice’s team, which barely squeaked into the playoffs as the last team to get into the field.
  — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 2 June 2023
• Zack de la Rocha has barely said a word to the press in the past quarter century.
  — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2024
• The neighbor told police Patterson barely let them into the house and rushed them out to the porch to smoke.
  — Gina Barton, USA TODAY, 20 July 2023
• The grid is absolutely packed, busier than Times Square with barely any room to move.
  — Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 12 June 2023
• No one talks about how Glen was going on the road with his band, and barely making any money.
  — Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2024
• Turns out, Mirai was the creation of three young hackers, all in their teens or barely 20 years old.
  — WIRED, 18 Nov. 2023
• And, in a stark departure from the 2010s when such races were barely on Democrats' radar, the party is ready to open the funding spigot.
  — Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 6 Dec. 2023
• The accident left his father barely able to move or speak.
  — Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2023
• As a result, Russian forces have barely advanced near the city.
  — Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2023
• Elijah Lewis was barely 18 then, a high school kid still searching for his own voice.
  — USA Today, 26 June 2023
• The former three-star recruit barely touched the football in his four seasons with the Bulldogs.
  — Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2024
• And two of the scholarship players in uniform barely play.
  — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2024
• Phoenix stares into his costar’s eyes but barely cracks a smile in their closeup encounter.
  — Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024
• His all-caps posts, which would’ve led cable news in 2016, barely register in the press today.
  — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2024
• That $170 was barely enough to support myself, let alone my two small children.
  — Kolandro Bramble, Essence, 12 Apr. 2024
• Temperatures barely budge with highs in the mid- to upper 50s.
  — David Streit, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023

Last Updated: 3 May 2024