Barely — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

only a very short time before; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

in a sparse or scanty way

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kɚɹˈɪɹɪŋli/

🇬🇧British English

/ɐpɹˈiːʃɪətəɹi/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɐpɹˈiːʃɪətəɹi/

3 syllables Say it as /kɚɹˈɪɹɪŋli/.

Examples

they could barely hear the speaker
we hardly knew them
just missed being hit

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

hardly scarce scarcely scantily just

Parts of Speech

adverb	only a very short time before; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats “they could barely hear the speaker”
adverb	in a sparse or scanty way “a barely furnished room”

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

kaum

nur ganz kurze Zeit vorher; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

🇫🇷French

à peine

seulement très peu de temps auparavant ; ; ; ; ; - W.B. Yeats

🇪🇸Spanish

apenas

sólo muy poco tiempo antes; ; ; ; ; - W. B. Yeats

🇮🇹Italian

appena

solo pochissimo tempo prima; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

🇳🇱Dutch

nauwelijks

slechts heel kort daarvoor; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

🇵🇹Portuguese

por muito pouco

apenas muito pouco tempo antes; ; ; ; ; -W.B.Yeats

🇷🇺Russian

едва

совсем недавно; ; ; ; ; - У.Б.Йейтс

India

🇮🇳Hindi

मुश्किल से

बहुत ही कम समय पहले; ; ; ; ; - डब्ल्यू.बी.येट्स

🇧🇩Bengali

সবে

খুব অল্প সময়ের আগে; ; ; ; ; - ডব্লিউবি ইয়েটস

🇮🇳Tamil

அரிதாகவே

மிகக் குறுகிய காலத்திற்கு முன்பு மட்டுமே; ; ; ; ; - டபிள்யூ.பி.யீட்ஸ்

🇮🇳Telugu

కేవలం

చాలా తక్కువ సమయం ముందు మాత్రమే; ; ; ; ; - డబ్ల్యు.బి.యేట్స్

🇮🇳Marathi

जेमतेम

अगदी थोड्या वेळापूर्वी; ; ; ; ; - डब्ल्यू.बी.येट्स

🇮🇳Gujarati

ભાગ્યે જ

માત્ર થોડા સમય પહેલા; ; ; ; ; - ડબલ્યુ.બી.યેટ્સ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅಷ್ಟೇನೂ

ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸಮಯದ ಮೊದಲು ಮಾತ್ರ; ; ; ; ; - ಡಬ್ಲ್ಯೂ.ಬಿ.ಯೀಟ್ಸ್

🇮🇳Malayalam

കഷ്ടിച്ച്

വളരെ കുറച്ച് സമയം മുമ്പ് മാത്രം; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਮੁਸ਼ਕਿਲ ਨਾਲ

ਸਿਰਫ ਥੋੜਾ ਸਮਾਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ; ; ; ; ; - ਡਬਲਯੂ.ਬੀ

🇵🇰Urdu

بمشکل

صرف ایک بہت کم وقت پہلے؛ ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

仅仅

就在很短的时间之前； ; ; ; ; ——叶芝

🇯🇵Japanese

かろうじて

ほんの少し前に。 ; ; ; ; - W.B.イェーツ

🇰🇷Korean

간신히

아주 짧은 시간 전에; ; ; ; ; - W.B.예이츠

🇻🇳Vietnamese

hầu như không

chỉ một thời gian rất ngắn trước đó; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

🇹🇭Thai

แทบจะไม่

ก่อนหน้านั้นเพียงไม่นานนัก ; ; ; ; - ดับเบิลยูบียีทส์

🇮🇩Indonesian

hampir tidak

hanya dalam waktu yang sangat singkat sebelumnya; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

🇵🇭Filipino

bahagya

napakaikling panahon lamang bago; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

🇲🇾Malay

hampir tidak

hanya masa yang sangat singkat sebelum ini; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

بالكاد

قبل وقت قصير جدًا فقط؛ ; ; ; ; - دبليو بي ييتس

🇮🇷Persian

به سختی

فقط مدت کوتاهی قبل؛ ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats

🇹🇷Turkish

neredeyse

çok kısa bir süre önce; ; ; ; ; -W.B.Yeats

🇮🇱Hebrew

בְּקוֹשִׁי

רק זמן קצר לפני כן; ; ; ; ; - W.B. Yeats

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'barely'?

The primary meaning of 'barely' is 'only a very short time before; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'barely' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'barely' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'barely' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'barely' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'barely' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'barely' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'barely' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'barely' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'barely' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'barely' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted