Scarcely

Definition: Scarcely

Scarcely

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. Almost not; "he hardly ever goes fishing"; "he was hardly more than sixteen years old"; "they scarcely ever used the emergency generator".

Date "scarcely" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references)

Synonyms: Scarcely

Synonyms: barely (adv), hardly (adv), just (adv), scarce (adv). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Fewness	Adjective: few; scant, scanty; thin, rare, scattered, thinly scattered, spotty, few and far between, exiguous; infrequent; rari nantes; hardly any, scarcely any; to be counted on one's fingers; reduced; Verb: unrepeated.
Improbability	Noun: improbability, unlikelihood; unfavorable chance, bad chance, ghost of a chance, little chance, small chance, poor chance, scarcely any chance, no chance; bare possibility; long odds; incredibility.
Infrequency	Adverb: seldom, rarely, scarcely, hardly; not often, not much, infrequently, unfrequently, unoften; scarcely, scarcely ever, hardly ever; once in a blue moon.
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.
Unimportance	Nothing, nothing to signify, nothing worth speaking of, nothing particular, nothing to boast of, nothing to speak of; small matter, no great matter, trifling matter; Adjective:; mere joke, mere nothing; hardly anything; scarcely anything; small beer, cipher; no great shakes, peu de chose; child's play, kinderspiel.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Domain	Title
Books	Coffin Scarcely Used (reference) Isabella Valancy Crawford : we scarcely knew her (reference) With Scarcely a Ripple: Anglo-Canadian Migration into the United States and Western Canada, 1880-1920 (McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History. seri (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Rescue party cutting into the fabric hull covering, near the tail, in an effort to save airmen trapped in the wreckage, "scarcely one-half hour" after the airship broke up, exploded and crashed into the Humber River at Hull, England. Credit: NAVY.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Author	Quotation
Denis Diderot	Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that aroused it.
Francois De La Rochefoucauld	We credit scarcely any persons with good sense except those who are of our opinion.
Giovanni Boccaccio	While farmers generally allow one rooster for ten hens, ten men are scarcely sufficient to service one woman.
Goethe	What I possess I would gladly retain. -- Change amuses the mind, yet scarcely profits.
Henry Fielding	Scarcely one person in a thousand is capable of tasting the happiness of others.
Jean Paul Richter	Sorrows are like thunderclouds, in the distance they look black, over our heads scarcely gray.
L. M. Child	Childhood itself is scarcely more lovely than a cheerful, kindly, sunshiny old age.
Thomas Arnold	My object will be, if possible, to form Christian men, for Christian boys I can scarcely hope to make.
William Hazlitt	We can scarcely hate anyone that we know.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Author	Date	Quotation
John Locke	1690	It is labour then which puts the greatest part of value upon land, without which it would scarcely be worth any thing: it is to that we owe the greatest part of all its useful products; for all that the straw, bran, bread, of that acre of wheat, is more worth than the product of an acre of as good land, which lies waste, is all the effect of labour: for it is not barely the plough-man's pains, the reaper's and thresher's toil, and the baker's sweat, is to be counted into the bread we eat; the labour of those who broke the oxen, who digged and wrought the iron and stones, who felled and framed the timber employed about the plough, mill, oven, or any other utensils, which are a vast number, requisite to this corn, from its being feed to be sown to its being made bread, must all be charged on the account of labour, and received as an effect of that: nature and the earth furnished only the almost worthless materials, as in themselves. (Second Treatise of Government)
US Declaration of Independence	1776	He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. (reference)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Emma	Austen, Jane	He joined them immediately, and, with scarcely an invitation, seated himself between them
Sylvie and Bruno	Carroll, Lewis	But the lady scarcely noticed the little incident
A Christmas Carol	Dickens, Charles	He was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions, that his broken voice would scarcely answer to his call
Scarlet Letter	Hawthorne, Nathaniel	It is scarcely decorous, however, to speak all, even where we speak impersonally
Les Miserables	Hugo, Victor	He was scarcely out of the room when the traveller came in.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man	Joyce, James	At the end of all those billions and trillions of years eternity would have scarcely begun
King Richard III	Shakespeare, William	You scarcely have the hearts to tell me so, And therefore cannot have the hearts to do it.
Walden	Thoreau, Henry David	I tasted them out of compliment to Nature, though they were scarcely palatable
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Business		The distribution network, operated by commissioned agents to supply mostly industrial establishments, was scarcely developed. (references)
Economic History	Australia	Although Australia has scarcely more than two persons per square kilometer, it is one of the world's most urbanized countries. (references)
	Sweden	During the 17th century, after winning wars against Denmark, Russia, and Poland, Sweden-Finland (with scarcely more than 1 million inhabitants) emerged as a great power. (references)
	Philippines	Instead, there are a number of laws dealing with competition, including the Revised Penal Code (R.A. 3815, 1930), Act to Prohibit Monopolies and Combinations in Restraint of Trade (R.A. 3247, 1961), Civil Code (R.A. 386, 1949), Corporation Code (1980) Price Act (R.A. 7581, 1991) and Consumer Act (R.A. 7394, 1932). These laws are scarcely enforced, due to a lack of interest and/or competence on the part of enforcement agencies to challenge well-entrenched economic and political interests. (references)
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	HEAD-:MONEY:, n. A capitation tax, or poll-tax. In ancient times there lived a king Whose tax-collectors could not wring From all his subjects gold enough To make the royal way less rough. For pleasure's highway, like the dames Whose premises adjoin it, claims Perpetual repairing. So The tax-collectors in a row Appeared before the throne to pray Their master to devise some way To swell the revenue. "So great," Said they, "are the demands of state A tithe of all that we collect Will scarcely meet them. Pray reflect: How, if one-tenth we must resign, Can we exist on t'other nine?" The monarch asked them in reply: "Has it occurred to you to try The advantage of economy?" "It has," the spokesman said: "we sold All of our gray garrotes of gold; With plated-ware we now compress The necks of those whom we assess. Plain iron forceps we employ To mitigate the miser's joy Who hoards, with greed that never tires, That which your Majesty requires." Deep lines of thought were seen to plow Their way across the royal brow. "Your state is desperate, no question; Pray favor me with a suggestion." "O King of Men," the spokesman said, "If you'll impose upon each head A tax, the augmented revenue We'll cheerfully divide with you." As flashes of the sun illume The parted storm-cloud's sullen gloom, The king smiled grimly. "I decree That it be so -- and, not to be In generosity outdone, Declare you, each and every one, Exempted from the operation Of this new law of capitation. But lest the people censure me Because they're bound and you are free, 'Twere well some clever scheme were laid By you this poll-tax to evade. I'll leave you now while you confer With my most trusted minister." The monarch from the throne-room walked And straightway in among them stalked A silent man, with brow concealed, Bare-armed -- his gleaming axe revealed! G.J.
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
George Washington	1789-1797	In a majority of the States scarcely an objection was heard to this mode of taxation.
James Monroe	1817-1825	A people who fail to do it can scarcely be said to hold a place among independent nations.
John Quincy Adams	1825-1829	The repression of piracy in the West Indian and in the Grecian seas has been effectually maintained, with scarcely any exception.
Andrew Jackson	1829-1837	Argument can scarcely be necessary to show that a measure of this character ought not to receive further legislative encouragement.
Benjamin Harrison	1889-1893	Our revenue should be ample to meet the ordinary annual demands upon our Treasury, with a sufficient margin for those extraordinary but scarcely less imperative demands which arise now and then.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Adverb (general)	99.94%	1,673	5,001
Noun (proper)	0.06%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	1,674	N/A

Expressions using "scarcely": he could scarcely go ♦ i have scarcely any left ♦ i scarcely head what he said ♦ scarcely any ♦ scarcely believe it ♦ scarcely ever ♦ scarcely likely ♦ scarcely noticeable ♦ scarcely smb. ♦ scarcely smth.. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "scarcely": scarcely-lit, scarcely-seen.
	Ending with "scarcely": money-scarcely.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language		Translations for "scarcely"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Afrikaans		skaars (barely, hardly, only, only just, rare), bekwaald (ailing, barely, hardly, only, only just), ampertjies (barely, hardly, only, only just), amper (almost, barely, hardly, nearly, only, only just). (various references)

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

Arabic		‏نادرا (little, rarely, seldom), ‏لا شىء (naught, nil, nix, nothing, nought), ‏بصعوبة (barely, hardly, heavily, ill, with difficulty), ‏بجهد, ‏بشق الأنفس (just, scarce, terribly, very hard, with greatest difficulty). (various references)

Bulgarian		тъкмо (flat, just, right, scarce), едва що (hardly, scarce), едва ли (hardly, ill, scarce), едва (barely, but, faintly, fine, hardly, just, lightly, narrowly, scarce). (various references)

Chinese		缺乏地, 幾乎�'有 (hardly any). (various references)

Czech		sotva (barely, hardly, just, no sooner than), jen tak tak (hardly). (various references)

Danish		knæppe (barely, hardly, only just). (various references)

Dutch		amper (barely, hardly, only just). (various references)

Esperanto		apenaŭ (barely, hardly, only just). (various references)

Faeroese		valla (barely, hardly, only just), neyvan (barely, hardly, only just). (various references)

Finnish		tuskin (barely, hardly, only just). (various references)

French		� peine (scarce). (various references)

Frisian		kwealik (barely, hardly, only just), amper (barely, hardly, only just). (various references)

German		kaum (barely, hardly, little (less, only just, scarce, scarcly, thinly). (various references)

Greek		σπανίωσ (rarely, seldom), σπανίως, σχεδόν καθόλου (barely, hardly), μόλισ (barely, but, hardly, just, narrowly, only just, scanty). (various references)

Hawaiian		mezi (barely, hardly, only just). (various references)

Hebrew		כמעט שלא (hardly). (various references)

Hungarian		alig (barely, by the skin of one's, faint, hardly, hardly ever, imperceptibly, just, little or not at all, narrowly, only just, scantily, slightly, sparingly). (various references)

Indonesian		sayup-sayup (blurred, faintly heard, indistinct). (various references)

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

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	aegre, aegre egre (adv.), aegre, egre, parcius, vix. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Language	Date	Source	Romans Chapter 5, Verse 7
Greek (transliterated)	250 BC	Septuagint	MoliV gar uper dikaiou tiV apoqaneitai uper gar tou agaqou taca tiV kai tolma apoqanein
Latin	405	Vulgate	Vix enim pro iusto quis moritur nam pro bono forsitan quis et audeat mori
Old English	990	West Saxon	Swiðe seldon wile man for þæm rihtwisan feallan, þeah for godan eaðe durre man sweltan.
Middle English	1395	Wyclif	For vnnethis dieth ony man for the iust man; and yit for a good man perauenture summan dar die.
Renaissance English	1526	Tyndale	Yet scace will eny man dye for a rightewes man. Paraventure for a good ma durst a man dye.
Jacobean English	1611	King James	For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
Victorian English	1833	Webster	For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die.
Basic English	1964	Ogden	Now it is hard for anyone to give his life even for an upright man, though it might be that for a good man someone would give his life.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language	Romans Chapter 5, Verse 7
Cebuano	Talagsa ra nga adunay magpakamatay alang sa uban, bisan pa alang sa usa ka tawong matarung-- hinoon aduna gayud kahay mangako sa pagpakamatay alang sa usa ka maayong tawo.
Chinese	為義人死、是少有的、為仁人死、或者有敢作的。
Croatian	Zbilja, jedva bi tko za pravedna umro; možda bi se za dobra tko i odvažio umrijeti.
Danish	Næppe vil nemlig nogen dø for en retfærdig - for den gode var der jo måske nogen, som tog sig på at dø -,
Dutch	Want nauwelijks zal iemand voor een rechtvaardige sterven; want voor den goede zal mogelijk iemand ook bestaan te sterven.
Finnish	Tuskinpa kukaan käy kuolemaan jonkun vanhurskaan edestä; hyvän edestä joku mahdollisesti uskaltaa kuolla.
French	A peine mourrait-on pour un juste; quelqu`un peut-être mourrait-il pour un homme de bien.
German	Nun stirbt kaum jemand um eines Gerechten willen; um des Guten willen dürfte vielleicht jemand sterben.
Haitian Creole	Se pa fasil pou ou jwenn yon moun asepte mouri pou yon nonm ki gen rezon. Ou ta ka jwenn yonn konsa ki ta gen kouraj mouri pou yon nonm debyen.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari	Untuk seseorang yang adil pun sukar orang mau mati. Barangkali untuk seseorang yang baik, ada juga orang yang berani mati.
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama	Karena jarang sangat seorang mau mati karena orang yang benar. Barangkali karena orang yang baik ada juga orang yang berani mati.
Maori	E mate whakauaua hoki tetahi mo te tangata tika: tera pea ia tetahi e maia rawa kia mate mo te tangata pai.
Norwegian	For neppe vil nogen gå i døden for en rettferdig - for en som er god, kunde kanskje nogen ta sig på å dø -
Portuguese	Porque dificilmente haverá quem morra por um justo; pois poderá ser que pelo homem bondoso alguém ouse morrer.
Rumanian	Pentru un om neprihqnit cu greu ar muri cineva; dar pentru binefqcqtorul lui, poate cq s`ar gqsi cineva sq moarq.
Shuar	Shuar Chíkich shuaran uwemtikratniun ¿jaruktatuak? Pénker shuar ain jarukchattawai. Kame ti penkeraitkiuinkia jarukchaintiash.
Spanish	Difícilmente muere alguno por un justo. Con todo, podría ser que alguno osara morir por el bueno.
Swahili	Si rahisi mtu kufa kwa ajili ya mtu mwadilifu; labda mtu anaweza kuthubutu kufa kwa ajili ya mtu mwema.
Swedish	Näppeligen vill ju eljest någon dö ens för en rättfärdig man -- om nu ock till äventyrs någon kan hava mod att dö för den som har gjort honom gott --
Uma	Hi gau' manusia', molaka tarua' tauna to dota mate mposampei doo-na to uma masala'. Ane doo-na toe tauna to lompe' lia nono-na, meka' ria moto nte hadua to daho' mate mposampei-i.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Expression	Frequency per Day
scarcely	10
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Misspellings
	"Scarcely" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Sarkhel, Scarcella, scarsely, sccarcely. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "scarcely" (pronounced ske"rslē)
4	-r s l ē	fiercely, parsley, sparsely.
3	-s l ē	adversely, aimlessly, ambitiously, anonymously, anxiously, assiduously, autonomously, breathlessly, callously, capriciously, carelessly, cautiously, ceaselessly, closely, concisely, conscientiously, consciously, conspicuously, contemporaneously, contemptuously, continuously, conversely, courageously, curiously, dangerously, deliciously, densely, disastrously, jealously, judiciously, laboriously, effortlessly, egregiously, endlessly, enormously, enviously, erroneously, expeditiously, expressly, fabulously, facetiously, fallaciously, falsely, famously, ferociously, flawlessly, frivolously, fruitlessly, furiously, generously, gloriously, graciously, gratuitously, grievously, grossly, harmlessly, harmoniously, hellaciously, helplessly, hideously, hilariously, hopelessly, horrendously, humorously, immensely, incongruously, indigenously, ingeniously, instantaneously, intensely, intravenously, inversely, listlessly, loosely, ludicrously, maliciously, marvelously, mercilessly, meticulously, mindlessly, miraculously, mysteriously, needlessly, nervously, nicely, notoriously, obviously, ominously, ostentatiously, outrageously, painlessly, perilously, perversely, piously, posthumously, precariously, precipitously, precisely, previously, princely, prodigiously, profusely, purposely, recklessly, relentlessly, religiously, restlessly, ridiculously, righteously, rigorously, ruthlessly, scrupulously, seamlessly, seriously, shamelessly, simultaneously, spontaneously, strenuously, studiously, subconsciously, surreptitiously, suspiciously, synonymously, tediously, tenaciously, tensely, tersely, thusly, tirelessly, tremendously, tremulously, unambiguously, unanimously, unceremoniously, unconsciously, variously, vicariously, viciously, vigorously, vociferously, zealously.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-c-c-e-l-r-s-y"
	-1 letter: calyces, carcels, cyclase, cyclers.
	-2 letters: calces, carcel, carles, clears, creasy, cresyl, cycler, cycles, lacers, layers, relays, scaler, scarce, scarey, sclera, slayer.
	-3 letters: acres, acyls, alecs, arles, aryls, cares, carle, carls, carse, cecal, clary, clays, clear, cycas, cycle, earls, early, escar, eyras, lacer, laces, lacey, lares, laser, layer, lears, leary, lyase, lycea, lyres, races.
	Words containing the letters "a-c-c-e-l-r-s-y"
	+1 letter: cyclecars.
	+2 letters: accursedly.
	+3 letters: cancerously, flycatchers, recyclables.
	+4 letters: calcareously, sclerenchyma, translucency.
	+5 letters: chalcopyrites, chlorenchymas, clairvoyances, cocarboxylase, cyclopropanes, pyrocatechols, sclerenchymas, spectacularly, tetracyclines.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Scarcely

Definition: Scarcely

Scarcely

Adverb

Synonyms: Scarcely

Synonyms within Context: Scarcely

Fewness

Improbability

Infrequency

Smallness

Unimportance

Crosswords: Scarcely

Modern Usage: Scarcely

Screenplays

Commercial Usage: Scarcely

Books

Photo Album: Scarcely

Familiar Quotations: Scarcely

Denis Diderot

Francois De La Rochefoucauld

Giovanni Boccaccio

Goethe

Henry Fielding

Jean Paul Richter

L. M. Child

Thomas Arnold

William Hazlitt

Historic Usage: Scarcely

John Locke

US Declaration of Independence

Use in Literature: Scarcely

Emma

Austen, Jane

Sylvie and Bruno

Carroll, Lewis

A Christmas Carol

Dickens, Charles

Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Joyce, James

King Richard III

Shakespeare, William

Walden

Thoreau, Henry David

Non-Fiction Usage: Scarcely

Business

Economic History

Australia

Sweden

Philippines

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

Speeches: Scarcely

George Washington

James Monroe

John Quincy Adams

Andrew Jackson

Benjamin Harrison

Usage Frequency: Scarcely

Expression: Scarcely

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Scarcely

scarcely

Modern Translation: Scarcely

Afrikaans

Albanian

Arabic

Bulgarian

Chinese

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Faeroese

Finnish

French

Frisian

German