scarcely
adverb /ˈskeəsli/
/ˈskersli/
- only just; almost not
- I can scarcely believe it.
- We scarcely ever meet.
- Scarcely a week goes by without some new scandal in the papers.
- There was scarcely a tree left standing after the storm.
- used to say that something happens immediately after something else happens
- He had scarcely put the phone down when the doorbell rang.
- Scarcely had the game started when it began to rain.
- used to suggest that something is not at all reasonable or likely
- It was scarcely an occasion for laughter.
- She could scarcely complain, could she?
- You can scarcely blame Annie.
- It is scarcely surprising that the reforms have provoked such widespread discontent.
Grammar Point hardly / scarcely / barely / no soonerhardly / scarcely / barely / no sooner- Hardly, scarcely and barely can all be used to say that something is only just true or possible. They are used with words like any and anyone, with adjectives and verbs, and are often placed between can, could, have, be, etc. and the main part of the verb:
- They have sold scarcely any copies of the book.
- I barely recognized her.
- His words were barely audible.
- I can hardly believe it.
- I hardly can believe it.
- Hardly, scarcely and barely are negative words and should not be used with not or other negatives:
- I can’t hardly believe it.
- You can also use hardly, scarcely and barely to say that one thing happens immediately after another:
- We had hardly/scarcely/barely sat down at the table, when the doorbell rang.
- Hardly/Scarcely had we sat down at the table, when the doorbell rang.
- I scarcely had time to ring the bell before the door opened.
- No sooner had we sat down at the table than the doorbell rang.
- Hardly and scarcely can be used to mean ‘almost never’, but barely is not used in this way:
- She hardly (ever) sees her parents these days.
- She barely sees her parents these days.