hardly

hard·ly

H0060800 (härd′lē)adv.1. To almost no degree; barely at all; almost not: I could hardly hear the speaker.2. Probably or surely not: He is hardly the kind of guy you would want to date. It's hardly a secret that they are engaged. 3. With great difficulty or effort: I could hardly get up the stairs.4. With severity; harshly: "The winter months would deal hardly with many of these poor folk" (William Black).

[Middle English hardli, from Old English heardlīce, harshly, bravely, from heard, hard; see hard.]Usage Note: In Standard English, hardly, scarcely, and similar adverbs cannot be used with a negative. The sentence I couldn't hardly see him, for instance, is not acceptable. This violation of the double negative rule is curious because these adverbs are not truly negative in meaning. Rather, they minimize the state or event they describe. Thus hardly means "almost not at all," rarely means "practically never," and so forth. The sentence Mary hardly laughed means that Mary did laugh a little, not that she kept from laughing altogether, and therefore does not express a negative proposition. But adverbs like hardly and scarcely do share some important features of negative adverbs, even though they may not have purely negative meaning. For one thing, they combine with any and at all, which are characteristically associated with negative contexts. Thus we say I hardly saw him at all or I never saw him at all but not I occasionally saw him at all. Similarly, we say I hardly had any time or I didn't have any time but not I had any time and so on. Like other negative adverbs, hardly triggers inversion of the subject and auxiliary verb when it begins a sentence. Thus we say Hardly had I arrived when she left on the pattern of Never have I read such a book. · Hardly and other minimizing adverbs are properly followed by when and not than in sentences like I had hardly walked inside [when/than] it began to rain. In our 2008 survey, 79 percent of the Usage Panel rejected the use of than in the previous sentence. See Usage Notes at double negative, rarely, scarcely.

hardly

(ˈhɑːdlɪ) adv1. scarcely; barely: we hardly knew the family. 2. just; only just: he could hardly hold the cup. 3. often ironic almost or probably not or not at all: he will hardly incriminate himself. 4. with difficulty or effort5. rare harshly or cruellyUsage: Since hardly, scarcely, and barely already have negative force, it is redundant to use another negative in the same clause: he had hardly had (not he hadn't hardly had) time to think; there was scarcely any (not scarcely no) bread left

hard•ly

(ˈhɑrd li)

adv. 1. only just; almost not; barely: hardly any; hardly ever. 2. not at all; scarcely: That report is hardly surprising. 3. with little likelihood: He will hardly come now. 4. Brit. harshly or severely. 5. hard. [1175–1225] syn: hardly, barely, scarcely imply a narrow margin of sufficiency. hardly usu. emphasizes the difficulty or sacrifice involved: We could hardly endure the winter. barely implies no more than the minimum, as in performance or quantity: We barely succeeded. scarcely implies an even narrower margin, usu. below a satisfactory level: He can scarcely read. usage: hardly, barely, scarcely all have a negative connotation, and the use of any of them with a supplementary negative (I can't hardly remember) is characteristic of dialectical or informal speech rather than edited writing. See also double negative.

hard

hardly1. 'hard'

Hard can be an adjective. If something is hard, it is not easy to do.

Coping with three babies is very hard work.

Hard can also be an adverb. For example, if you work hard, you work with a lot of effort.

Many elderly people have worked hard all their lives.2. 'hardly'

Hardly is an adverb. It has a totally different meaning from hard. You use hardly to modify a statement when you want to emphasize that only a small amount or detail makes it true, and it is best to consider the opposite as true. For example, if someone hardly speaks, they do not speak much. If something is hardly surprising, it is not very surprising.

I hardly knew him.Nick hardly slept because he was so worried.

If you use an auxiliary verb or modal with hardly, you put the auxiliary verb or modal first. You say, for example, 'I can hardly see'. Don't say 'I hardly can see'.

Two years before, the wall had hardly existed.She can hardly wait to begin.We could hardly move.

Be Careful!
Don't use 'not' with hardly. Don't say, for example, 'I did not hardly know him'. Say 'I hardly knew him'.

Hardly is sometimes used in longer structures to say that one thing happened immediately after another.

The local police had hardly finished their search when the detectives arrived.

Be Careful!
In structures like these you use when, not 'than'. Don't say, for example, 'The local police had hardly finished their search than the detectives arrived'.

In stories, hardly is sometimes put at the beginning of a sentence, followed by had or the verb be and the subject.

Hardly had he uttered the words when he began laughing.3. 'hardly ever'

If something hardly ever happens, it almost never happens.

I hardly ever spoke to them.Tim hardly ever met her friends.

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	hardly - only a very short time before; "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.Yeatsbarely, scarce, scarcely, just
	2.	hardly - almost not; "he hardly ever goes fishing"; "he was hardly more than sixteen years old"; "they scarcely ever used the emergency generator"scarcely

hardly

adverb1. barely, only just, scarcely, just, faintly, with difficulty, infrequently, with effort, at a push (Brit. informal), almost not Nick, on the sofa, hardly slept.
barely really, more than, completely, certainly, amply, easily, fully, truly, undoubtedly, well over, by all means, abundantly, indubitably2. only just, just, only, barely, not quite, scarcely I could hardly see the garden for the fog.3. not at all, not, no way, by no means It's hardly surprising his ideas didn't catch on.

hardly

adverbBy a very little; almost not:barely, just, scarce, scarcely.

Translations

几乎不几乎不是仅

hardly

(ˈhaːdli) adverb1. almost no, none, never etc. Hardly any small businesses are successful nowadays; I hardly ever go out.几乎不是2. only just; almost not. My feet are so sore, I can hardly walk; I had hardly got on my bicycle when I got a puncture.仅3. probably not. He's hardly likely to forgive you after what you said about him.几乎不

hardly

→ 几乎不zhCN

hardly

(one) can hardly believe (one's) eyes

One is unable to believe or accept what is happening right in front of one. She could hardly believe her eyes when all of her extended relatives surprised her by coming to our wedding. This place is so dirty, I can hardly believe my eyes!See also: believe, can, eye, hardly

can hardly hear (oneself) think

Unable to concentrate or think clearly because there is too much noise or commotion around oneself. Kids, go outside to play! I can hardly hear myself think with you shouting like that! With the noise of the construction outside her window, she could hardly hear herself think.See also: can, hardly, hear, think

hardly dry behind the ears

Not yet fully mature; not well experienced in some situation or for some role. You boys can't enlist for the army, you're hardly dry behind the ears!See also: behind, dry, ear, hardly

wet behind the ears

Inexperienced, often because one is young. You'll never win the case with him as your lawyer—he's just out of law school and still wet behind the ears! This group of interns seems especially wet behind the ears—I barely trust them to get my coffee!See also: behind, ear, wet

hardly ever

Nearly never; very infrequently; only on a few or rare occasions. We used to go visit Grandma and Grandpa every year when I was a kid, but nowadays I hardly ever see them. I hardly ever get the chance to go out to the movies alone since having kids.See also: ever, hardly

hardly earth-shattering

Not surprising. Greg has been staying late at the office regularly for months, so it's hardly earth-shattering news that he was chosen for the big promotion.See also: hardly

it's hardly saying much

It is rather unremarkable, unimportant, or unimpressive (that something is the case) relative to someone or something else or some broader picture. True, the economy has improved under this president, but it's hardly saying much if you consider how his predecessor left things. A: "So you are a better cook than your wife, who hates cooking?" B: "Yeah, I know, it's hardly saying much."See also: hardly, much, saying

that's hardly saying much

That is rather unremarkable, unimportant, or unimpressive relative to someone or something else or some broader picture. Well, the president has managed to get the economy to a better position than where his predecessor left it, but then that's hardly saying much. I'm a slightly better cook than my wife, but that's hardly saying much.See also: hardly, much, saying

hardly have time to breathe

To be extremely busy. We're trying to finish up that big report, so I hardly have time to breathe these days.See also: breathe, hardly, have, time

hardly have time to think

To be extremely busy. We're trying to finish up that big report, so I scarcely have time to breathe these days.See also: hardly, have, think, time

exchange no more than

some number of words with someone and not exchange more than some number of words with someone; hardly exchange more than some number of words with someone; scarcely exchange more than some number of words with someone to say hardly anything to someone. (Always negative.) I know Tom was there, but I am sure that I didn't exchange more than three words with him before he left. We hardly exchanged more than two words the whole evening. Sally and Liz didn't have enough time to exchange more than five words.See also: exchange, more, no

hardly have time to breathe

and scarcely have time to breatheFig. to be very busy. This was such a busy day. I hardly had time to breathe. They made him work so hard that he scarcely had time to breathe.See also: breathe, hardly, have, time

hardly have time to think

so busy that one can hardly think properly; very busy. I've been so busy that I hardly have time to think. I hardly have time to think in the job that I do. We are just too busy.See also: hardly, have, think, time

wet behind the ears

and not dry behind the ears; hardly dry behind the earsFig. young and inexperienced. John's too young to take on a job like this! He's still wet behind the ears! He may be wet behind the ears, but he's well-trained and totally competent. Tom is going into business by himself? Why, he's hardly dry behind the ears.See also: behind, ear, wet

hardly ever

Also, rarely ever, scarcely ever. Very seldom, almost never, as in This kind of thief is hardly ever caught, or He rarely ever brings up his wartime experiences. The ever in these expressions, first recorded in 1694, serves as an intensifier. See also: ever, hardly

wet behind the ears

Also, not dry behind the ears. Immature, inexperienced, as in How can you take instructions from Tom? He's still wet behind the ears, or Jane's not dry behind the ears yet. This term alludes to the fact that the last place to dry in a newborn colt or calf is the indentation behind its ears. [Early 1900s] See also: behind, ear, wet

wet behind the ears

If someone is wet behind the ears, they are young and do not have much knowledge or experience of a situation. Hawking was a research student, still wet behind the ears by scientific standards. Terry, it turned out, was just out of university and wet behind the ears. Note: You can also use wet-behind-the-ears before a noun. The song is all about how he felt as a small-town, wet-behind-the-ears kid coming to LA for the first time. Note: There are two possible origins for this expression. It may refer to a young animal being washed by its mother. Alternatively, it may refer to children forgetting to dry behind their ears after washing. See also: behind, ear, wet

wet behind the ears

lacking experience; immature. informal The image is of a baby or young animal which is still damp after it has been born.See also: behind, ear, wet

(still) ˌwet behind the ˈears

(informal, disapproving) be young and with very little experience: He’s a young teacher, still wet behind the ears. OPPOSITE: an old hand (at something/at doing something)See also: behind, ear, wet

wet behind the ears

Inexperienced; green.See also: behind, ear, wet

hardly

hard·ly

hardly

hard•ly

hard

hardly

hardly

hardly

hardly

hardly

(one) can hardly believe (one's) eyes

can hardly hear (oneself) think

hardly dry behind the ears

wet behind the ears

hardly ever

hardly earth-shattering

it's hardly saying much

that's hardly saying much

hardly have time to breathe

hardly have time to think

exchange no more than

hardly have time to breathe

hardly have time to think

wet behind the ears

hardly ever

wet behind the ears

wet behind the ears

wet behind the ears

(still) ˌwet behind the ˈears

wet behind the ears

hardly

Synonyms for hardly

adv barely

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Antonyms

adv only just

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adv not at all

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Synonyms for hardly

adv by a very little; almost not

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Synonyms for hardly

adv only a very short time before

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adv almost not

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