barely
1 ENTRIES FOUND:
Britannica Dictionary definition of BARELY
1
a
:
hardly or scarcely
— used to say that something was almost not possible or almost did not happen
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I barely recognized you with your hair cut short.
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He could barely walk/read/write.
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His voice was barely audible above the sound of the river.
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The boat was barely visible off the coast.
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We barely [=almost do not] have enough money to pay the bills.
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I barely [=almost do not] have time to eat my lunch.
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He barely made his flight. [=he almost was too late for his flight]
b
— used to say that someone or something only has a specified small size, age, length, etc.
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The movie is (just) barely an hour long.
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He's barely a teenager.
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She's barely four feet tall.
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Barely 50 percent of the population voted.
c
— used to say that something reached a specified condition or happened only a short time before
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The paint is barely dry.
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They had barely [=just] set up the tents when it started to rain.
2
a
:
almost not at all
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We barely spoke the entire time we were in the car.
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I barely knew him.
b
:
almost not
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There are barely any new features in this software.
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There is barely a difference between the two.
