barely
By a hair
Barely means only just, by a narrow margin: We barely made it in time.
It suggests almost not happening or being insufficient: I could barely hear her, He barely touched his food.
Barely can also mean scarcely or only a short time before: I had barely sat down when the phone rang.
Almost not
- hardlyAlmost not at all
- meagerDeficient in quantity
- sparseThinly scattered or distributed
- scarceIn short supply
slight · paltry · skimpy · meagre · scant · deficient · inadequate · insufficient
Fair and impartial
By a small margin
- closelyIn proximity or detail
- by a whiskerBy the slimmest margin
- tightFirmly stretched or fitting
- hairbreadthExtremely narrow margin
by a hair · near miss · close call · photo finish · squeaker · razor-thin · touch and go
- adequateBarely meeting standards
- sufficientMeeting minimum requirements
- passableMinimally sufficient quality
- tolerableAble to be endured
acceptable · minimal · marginal · threshold · borderline · scraping by · meeting · satisfying
In a weak manner
- dimlyWith weak illumination
- imperceptiblyBelow detection threshold
- slightlyTo a minor extent
- whisperSpeech without full voice
glimmer · trace · hint · ghost · shadow · flicker · murmur · suggestion
Barely having enough
- hanging onContinuing despite difficulty
- clingingGripping without release
- enduringPersisting through time
- subsistingContinuing to exist
struggling · surviving · eking out · getting by · making do · persisting · weathering · holding on
scarcely
Almost not
scarce · slight · paltry · skimpy · meagre · scant · deficient · inadequate · insufficient · limited
just
Fair and impartial
narrowly
By a small margin
- closelyIn proximity or detail
- by a whiskerBy the slimmest margin
- tightFirmly stretched or fitting
by a hair · hairbreadth · near miss · close call · photo finish · squeaker · razor-thin · touch and go
just enough
- adequateBarely meeting standards
- sufficientMeeting minimum requirements
- passableMinimally sufficient quality
tolerable · acceptable · minimal · marginal · threshold · borderline · scraping by · meeting · satisfying · clearing
faintly
In a weak manner
- dimlyWith weak illumination
- imperceptiblyBelow detection threshold
- slightlyTo a minor extent
whisper · glimmer · trace · hint · ghost · shadow · flicker · murmur · suggestion · touch
scraping by
Barely having enough
- hanging onContinuing despite difficulty
- clingingGripping without release
- enduringPersisting through time
subsisting · struggling · surviving · eking out · getting by · making do · persisting · weathering · holding on · treading water
- -LY wordssoftly, loudly, quickly, slowly, happily
- adverbsquickly, slowly, very, really, now
- intensifiersvery, really, extremely, absolutely, incredibly
- almost wordsalmost, nearly, close, just about, practically
- not reallynot quite, sort of, kind of, maybe, hardly
- polarity wordsany, anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere
barelydefinitely
With complete certainty
clearly · certainly · plainly · unquestionably · positively
- bare handsUngloved, unequipped extremities
- bare minimumSmallest acceptable quantity
- barefaced liarAudacious spreader of untruths
- bare bonesMinimal necessary elements
- bare feet
- bare necessitiesMinimum requirements for living
bare, bared, barefoot, bareness, barest, bareback, barefaced, bareheaded, barer