barely
/ˈbɛɹ.li/
adverb
By a small margin.
NWL
Collins
ENABLE
Adverb 3 meanings
By a small margin.
“I barely completed my homework. However, I got a score of 5 for it.”
Almost not at all.
“The plane is so far away now I can barely see it.”
Recently, just now.
“I barely got to the store.”
Where it comes from
Etymology
From Middle English baarly, bareliche, barely, barly, from Old English bærlīċe, equivalent to bare + -ly. Compare Danish bare (“only, just”), Norwegian bare (“only, just”).
Similar and opposite words
Similar
BARELY at a glance
BARELY has 6 letters and scores 11 points in Scrabble (B 3 + A 1 + R 1 + E 1 + L 1 + Y 4) and 12 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #2,978 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with barely
All rhymes- LIKELY13
- COMPLETELY19
- ABSOLUTELY15
- IMMEDIATELY19
- DEFINITELY17
- EXTREMELY21
- LOVELY12
- ENTIRELY11
- RELATIVELY16
- APPROXIMATELY29
- UNFORTUNATELY19
- LARGELY11
One letter away
- RARELY9
- BARFLY14
- BASELY11
- YARELY12
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