Barely

Definition: Barely

Barely

Adverb

1. By a small margin; "they could barely hear the speaker"; "we hardly knew them"; "just missed being hit"; "had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open"; "would have scarce arrived before she would have found some excuse to leave"- W.B.Yeats.

2. N a sparse or scanty way; "a barely furnished room".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "barely" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1550. (references)

Synonyms: Barely

Difficulty

Adverb: with difficulty, with much ado; barely, hardly; Adjective: uphill; against the stream, against the grain; d rebours; invita Minerva; in the teeth of; at a pinch, upon a pinch; at long odds, against long odds.

Imperfection

Not pass muster, barely pass muster; fall short.

Possibility

Barely possible, marginally possible, just possible; possible but improbably, (improbable); theoretically possible.

Smallness

Almost, nearly, well-nigh, short of, not quite, all but; near upon, close upon; peu s'en faut, near the mark; within an ace of, within an inch of; on the brink of; scarcely, hardly, barely, only just, no more than. about, thereabouts, somewhere about, nearly, say; be the same, be little more or less. no ways, no way, no wise; not at all, not in the least, not a bit, not a bit of it, not a whit, not a jot, not a shadow; in no wise, in no respect; by no means, by no manner of means; on no account, at no hand.

Crosswords: Barely

We barely know each other (Eyes Wide Shut; writing credit: Arthur Schnitzler; Stanley Kubrick)

Well maybe we shouldn't be talking about this just now, with you barely home (The Sweet Hereafter; writing credit: Atom Egoyan)

If you're referring to the incident with the Dragon, I was barely involved (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; writing credit: Frances Walsh)

I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head (The Shawshank Redemption; writing credit: Frank Darabont)

I'm barely able to look over the counter (Home Alone 2: Lost in New York; writing credit: John Hughes)

I BARELY SLEEP (Come Back In One Piece; performing artist: Aaliyah)

I can barely recall (It's all coming back to me now; performing artist: Celine Dion)

Only shadows ahead barely clearing the roof (Don't Dream It's Over; performing artist: Crowded House)

Barely gettin' by (9 To 5; performing artist: Dolly Parton)

Well, we barely made the airport (All She Wants to Do Is Dance; performing artist: Don Henley)

Sometimes too much drink is barely enough. (references; author: Mark Twain)

Youth is when we are always hunting greener pastures, and middle age is when we can barely mow the one we've got. (references; author: unknown)

Barely Reasonable (1926)

Universal Ike Junior Barely Won Her (1914)

Barely Cooking (2003)

ECW Barely Legal (1997)

Barely Legal (1985)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Australian Broadband Infrastructure: Is Too Much Barely Enough? [DOWNLOAD: PDF] (reference)

• Barely Breathing (reference)

• Barely Decent (Harlequin Temptation, No. 904) (reference)

• Barely Moving (reference)

• Faces, places, and barely human races (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Barely Brooke (reference)

• Barely Legal (reference)

• ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) - Barely Legal (reference)

• Barely Brook (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Barely Legal/All Ages (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Carrying lumber up rift in cliffs at east end of Amlia Island Note boat at beach - shore party shows as barely visible specks at top of photo Party off of PIONEER. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

Checking boatsheet during wiredrag survey of Mitchell Jordan Reservoir Plastic three-arm protractor for plotting fixes barely visible under hand Surveying reservoir for seaplane landing site during WWII ferrying operations Wiredrag party of Max G. Ricketts. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

This lake near San Luis Obispo, California barely contains any water following a several year drought. Credit: Tim McCabe.

In this picture the Agua Fria River can just barely be seen in the bottom of the canyon that shares its name with the river. Credit: John Beckett.

Pioneer mother and child standing in barely lit room holding hands. At the NHOTIC. Credit: Unknown.

Smoke rises from two enemy planes shot down during a Japanese air attack on U.S. ships off Guadalcanal, 12 November 1942. Photographed from USS President Adams (AP-38). Ship at right is USS Betelgeuse (AK-28). That at left, barely visible beyond President Adams' structure, is USS Libra (AK-53). Smoke in the center distance appears to be a smoke screen. Credit: NAVY.

Aerial view of the disaster area, looking westward, seen from a plane assigned to USS Aroostook (CM-3). Visible are five of the seven destroyers that ran aground on Honda Point during the night of 8 September 1923. They are: USS Fuller (DD-297), beyond the small rock island in the center; USS Woodbury (DD-309), just ahead of Fuller; USS Chauncey (DD-296), closest to the camera; USS Young (DD-312), capsized astern of Chauncey; and USS Delphy (DD-261), barely visible, capsized just beyond the coast at right. Credit: NAVY.

James Gallon of Greensboro, Florida, and his son James, Jr., a Navy veteran, telling Earle W. Fisher, Research Assistant, in the Washington Bureau, NAACP, how they barely escaped with their lives after a severe beating with ax handles by a Florida mob, wh. Credit: Library of Congress.

Negro tenant family who barely lives on the earnings of fifty dollars a year. They pay a standing rent. There are five children working; ages from seven to fourteen. The older children cultivating, the younger children hoeing and chopping. Eutaw, Alabama. Credit: Library of Congress.

Near Meloland, Imperial Valley. Large scale agriculture. Gang labor, Mexican and white, from the Southwest. Pull, clean, tie and crate carrots for the eastern market for eleven cents per crate of forty-eight bunches. Many can barely make one dollar a day. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

And then they have nothing to do, but barely to shew us which that is; which when they have done, I doubt not but all mankind will easily agree to pay obedience to him. (Second Treatise of Government)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Those who can barely live, and who live perforce in a very small, and generally very inferior, society, may well be illiberal and cross

She barely looked the idea in the face, and hastened to bar it in its dungeon

The vertical exhaust pipe puttered up its barely visible blue smoke

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

There are several genetic types with clinical pictures ranging from barely detectable hematologic abnormality to severe and fatal anemia. (references)

At other times, blisters appear that may be very small and barely noticeable, or they may break into open sores that crust over and then disappear. (references)

Despite global efforts during the water and sanitation decade, improvements in water and sanitation infrastructure have barely kept pace with population increases and migrations in the developing world. (references)

Business

By the mid-90s there were barely 20 leasing companies. (references)

At the time of this writing the banking system is barely functioning. (references)

With 22% of the world’s population and only 8% of its fresh water, China’s per capita availability of fresh water is barely a quarter of the world average. (references)

Children

Angola

The Ministry of Education barely functioned due to a lack of resources and corrupt administration. (references)

Tajikistan

Public education is intended to be free and universal; however, a lack of resources has caused the public school system to deteriorate to the point at which it barely functions. (references)

Economic History

Mauritius

Small planters have barely begun derocking. (references)

Human Rights

Solomon Islands

During the year, the judicial system barely functioned. (references)

Solomon Islands

However, during the year, the entire judicial system barely functioned. (references)

Lebanon

Amnesty International reported that such summary trials, with barely 7 minutes spent on each individual, neither allowed the innocent to be acquitted nor ensured the discovery of those who may be guilty of war crimes. (references)

Political Economy

Bolivia

However, most workers engage in traditional agriculture, and many citizens remain barely linked to the cash economy. (references)

PHILIPPINES

The domestic savings rate is relatively low compared to the rest of Asia, estimated at barely 17 percent of GDP in 2000. (references)

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

In 2001, Korean imports of U.S. and other foreign cars are expected to barely exceed 8,000 units, far less than one percent of the domestic market. (references)

Political Rights

Turkmenistan

The Government announced the election barely a month before the voting day, giving opposition groups insufficient time to organize and qualify to submit a candidate. (references)

Trade

Russia

Since 1995, the total number of banks has declined from approximately 2,600 to 1,320; of these, 300 barely survive. (references)

Worker Rights

Cyprus

Unskilled workers typically earn about $416 (260 Cyprus pounds) per month, which barely is adequate to support a family. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "barely": barely pass muster ♦ barely sufficient ♦ only just barely. Additional references.

Beginning with "barely": barely-alive, barely-audible, barely-changed, barely-checked, barely-concealed, barely-controlled, barely-explored, barely-hidden, barely-lit, barely-precedented, barely-seared, barely-suppressed, barely-supressed, barely-there, barely-to-bed, barely-veiled, barely-worn.

Afrikaans

skaars (hardly, only, only just, rare, scarcely), bekwaald (ailing, hardly, only, only just, scarcely), ampertjies (hardly, only, only just, scarcely), amper (almost, hardly, nearly, only, only just, scarcely). (various references)

Albanian

mezi (depth, hardly, narrowly, nearly, only just, scarcely). (various references)

Arabic 

‏على نحو هزيل, ‏بصعوبة (hardly, heavily, ill, scarcely, with difficulty), ‏بصراحة (blankly, downright, flat, freely, honestly, on the level, outright, overtly, plain, plainly, plump, point blank, unreservedly), ‏بالكاد (hardly). (various references)

Bulgarian 

само (auto, but, entirely, just, merely, nothing but, only, purely, simply, solely), открито (above board, baldly, manifestly, openly, outright, overtly, professedly, publicly, straight out, unreservedly), едва (but, faintly, fine, hardly, just, lightly, narrowly, scarce, scarcely), просто (commonly, just, merely, purely, simply). (various references)

Chinese 

僅僅 (merely, only), 僅 (merely, only), 剛 (exactly, firm, hard, just, strong), 几乎没有. (various references)

Czech

taktak, stìží (hardly, scarcely likely), sotva (hardly, just, no sooner than, scarcely). (various references)

Danish

knæppe (hardly, only just, scarcely). (various references)

Dutch

amper (hardly, only just, scarcely). (various references)

Esperanto

apenaŭ (hardly, only just, scarcely). (various references)

Faeroese

valla (hardly, only just, scarcely), neyvan (hardly, only just, scarcely). (various references)

Farsi 

بطورعریان , بااشکال . (various references)

Finnish

vaivoin (with difficulty), tuskin (hardly, only just, scarcely), nipin napin (by a narrow margin, only just). (various references)

French

à peine. (various references)

Frisian

kwealik (hardly, only just, scarcely), amper (hardly, only just, scarcely). (various references)

German

kaum (hardly, little (less, only just, scarce, scarcely, scarcly, thinly), knapp (almost, bald, bare, barely sufficient, close, concise, concisely, crisp, curtly, just, just enough, laconic, laconically, lean, low, meager, meagre, narrow, pithy, rare, scantily, scantly, scanty, scarce, scarcely, scrimpy, short, skimpily, skimpy, slender, stinted, summarily, taut, tautly, terse, tersely, tight, tightly). (various references)

Greek 

σχεδόν καθόλου (hardly, scarcely), μόλισ (but, hardly, just, narrowly, only just, scanty, scarcely), μόλις και μετά βίας (hardly). (various references)

Hawaiian

mezi (hardly, only just, scarcely). (various references)

Hebrew 

בקושי (hardly, with difficulty). (various references)

Hungarian

hiányosan (scantily, scantly, skimpily), alig (by the skin of one's, faint, hardly, hardly ever, imperceptibly, just, little or not at all, narrowly, only just, scantily, scarcely, slightly, sparingly), éppen hogy. (various references)

Indonesian

baru (fresh, just, modern, new, newly, not until, only now), hampir tidak (hardly). (various references)

Italian

appena (as soon as, freshly, hardly, just, merely, new, only, only just, scarcely, soon, sooner). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

辛辛 , 辛くも (narrowly, with difficulty), 辛うじて (just manage to do st, narrowly), かっ血 (I wonder, lung hemorrhage, scraping by). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

かつかつ (scraping by), かろうじて (just manage to do st, narrowly), からがら, からくも (narrowly, with difficulty). (various references)

Korean 

벌거벗. (various references)

Manx

er-egin. (various references)

Papiamen

apenas (hardly, only just, scarcely). (various references)

Pig Latin

arelybay.(various references)

Polish

zaledwie (hardly, only just, scarcely). (various references)

Portuguese

mal (badly, bale, blight, evil, hardly, harm, hurt, ill, ill-treat, just, little, malady, scarcely, sickness, teen, teener, wrong, wrongdoing), apenas (alone, but, exclusively, hardly, just, merely, only, only just, scarcely). (various references)

Romanian

sãrãcãcios (baldly, barren, humble, mean, meanly, miserable, modest, penurious, poky, poor, poorly, poverty stricken, scant, shabby, slender, sorry, sparing), pe faţã (avowedly, baldly, open, openly, ostensible, overtly), numai (alone, but, exclusively, just, mere, merely, none but, only, simply, solely), foarte puţin (dribs and drabs, fat job), doar (but, just, mere, none but, only, pure, purely), deschis (above board, artless, avowedly, bald, baldly, barefaced, blunt, broad, direct, downright, flatly, forthright, Frank, frankly, freehearted, free-spoken, guileless, light, naked, open, openly, outright, outspoken, overt, overtly, pale, patent, plainly, raw, round, roundly, sincere, Square, straight, straightforward, unfeigned, unreserved). (various references)

Russian 

только (as late as, ever, exclusively, just, merely, nothing but, only, solely). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

jedva (faintly, hairbreadth, hardly, near, scarce, scarcely). (various references)

Spanish

apenas (hardily, hardly, just, only just, scarce, scarcely). (various references)

Swedish

torftigt, sparsamt (frugally), nätt och jämt, nätt och jämnt (only just barely), näppeligen (hardly, only just, scarcely), knappt (hardly, low, only just, scantily, scarcely), knappast (hardly, ill, only just, scarcely, scarecely). (various references)

Turkish

zar zor (hardly, ill, only just, scarcely), ancak (alone, but, exclusively, hardly, however, just, merely, nevertheless, on the other hand, only, only just, purely, scarcely, solely, yet). (various references)

Ukrainian

тільки (alone, but, entirely, exclusively, just, merely, nothing but, only, purely), голо (baldly), відверто (above board, avowedly, baldly, broadly, confessedly, explicitly, frankly, freely, in public, open-heartedly, openly, outright, outspokenly, plain, plainly, professedly, unreservedly, without reserve), ледве (but, hardly, ill, narrowly, scarce, scarcely, some), лише (alone, merely, only), бідно (humbly, poorly), прямо (above board, avowedly, baldly, bang, broadly, clean, direct, directly, flush, forthright, outright, outspokenly, plainly, plump, point blank, roundly, straight, through, upright). (various references)

Vietnamese 

vừa đủ (just), trơ trụi; nghèo nàn vừa mới, rõ ràng rỗng không, công khai (avowedly, declared, overt, professed, professedly, public, publicly, purportedly). (various references)

Welsh

prin (bare, hardly, only just, rare, scarce, scarcely). (various references)

solum, vix. (various references)

Misspellings

"Barely" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Areley, Babeny, baerel, baral, baray, barbedly, Barbey, Bardely, Bardelys, Bareala, bareel, Barel, barelli, baresly, barey, Bargello, Barkly, Barle, barlen, barli, barlie, Barly, barmel, Barnesley, barol, barrault, barrelk, barrelly, Bartelo, basrley, Bately, Bearley, bearly, berley, Berulf, birel, Borbely, Bordesly, boredly, Borelli, borellii, Borley, Borrelli, Breeley, brel, Byrely, bzargl, Karelya. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: barley, bleary.

-1 letter: abler, baler, barye, belay, beryl, blare, blear, early, layer, leary, relay, yerba.

-2 letters: able, ably, abye, aery, aryl, bale, bare, bear, blae, brae, bray, byre, byrl, earl, eyra, lear, lyre, rale, real, rely, yare, year.

-3 letters: aby, alb, ale, arb, are, aye, bal, bar, bay, bel, bey, bra, bye, ear, era, lab, lar.

+1 letter: barleys, bilayer, blarney, bravely, dryable.

+2 letters: badgerly, bankerly, barrenly, bearably, beggarly, betrayal, bilayers, biyearly, bladdery, blarneys, blearily, brazenly, cymbaler, diablery, operably, rateably, readably, reliably, slabbery, urbanely, verbally.

+3 letters: agreeably, alterably, baroquely, bearishly, betrayals, bizarrely, blaeberry, blarneyed, breathily, cymbalers, desirably, embryonal, endurably, execrably, hyperbola, liberally, memorably, miserably, refutably, removably, renewably, repayable, reputably, superably, tolerably, venerably, veritably.