adv.

1. By a small margin; barely: We scarcely made it in time.
2. Almost not; hardly: We scarcely ever used the reserve generator.
3. Certainly not: They could scarcely complain after such good treatment.

USAGE NOTE   Because scarcely has the force of a negative, its use with another negative, as in I couldn't scarcely believe it, is regarded as incorrect. • A clause following scarcely is correctly introduced by when or before; the use of than, though common, is still unacceptable to some grammarians: The meeting had scarcely begun when (or before but not than) it was interrupted. See Usage Notes at double negative, hardly.

adverb

By a very little; almost not: barely, hardly, just, scarce. See near/far/distance.

adv

Definition: barely
Antonyms: adequately, commonly, sufficiently

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IN BRIEF: adv. - By a small margin; Almost not.

Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness — Charlotte Bronte

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The adverb has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: by a small margin
  Synonyms: barely, hardly, just, scarce

Meaning #2: almost not
  Synonym: hardly

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