scarcely - Definition & Meaning | VisualLang Dictionary

scar

cely

almost not; only just enoughalmost not; only just enough

Examples

I could scarcely hear her whisper.
She could scarcely stand after the long walk.
The child was scarcely tall enough to reach the shelf.

Synonyms

infinitesimally scarcely slightly minimally little lightly barely vanishingly scarce hardly marginally

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scar

cely

1

almost not; only just enough

I could scarcely hear her whisper.
She could scarcely stand after the long walk.
The child was scarcely tall enough to reach the shelf.
He was so tired he could scarcely keep his eyes open.
The car could scarcely make it up the steep hill.

Synonyms:

infinitesimally slightly minimally little lightly barely vanishingly scarce hardly marginally

2

almost immediately before something else happened

She had scarcely closed the door when the phone rang.
The guests had scarcely arrived before the party started.
The show had scarcely begun when the lights went out.
He had scarcely left the house when it began to rain.
We had scarcely sat down before the meeting began.

Synonyms:

only just barely scarce just hardly

3

very unlikely to happen or be true

You could scarcely have chosen a better gift.
She could scarcely arrive before noon.
They could scarcely expect a different outcome.
He could scarcely have known the truth.
We could scarcely hope for more support.

Synonyms: