hardly
Almost not quite
Hardly means barely, scarcely, or almost not at all: I could hardly hear her over the noise.
It emphasizes how little or how narrowly something occurs: We hardly know each other, I can hardly wait.
Despite containing "hard," hardly doesn't mean "in a hard manner"—that sense is archaic.
Hardly anyone showed up means almost no one did.
Only just, almost not
slightly · minimally · faintly · marginally · by a hair · imperceptibly · a little · meagerly
Mild negative response
- not quiteSlightly short of completely
- no wayEmphatic denial
- unlikelyNot apt to happen
- doubtfulUncertain of truth
improbable · questionable · unconvincing · unbelievable · implausible · far from · nowhere near · nothing like
Exerted with difficulty
- strainedUnder uncomfortable tension
- laboredRequiring great exertion
- toiledExerted oneself strenuously
- wrestledEngaged in combat sport
grappled · endured · persevered · managed · coped · survived · weathered · withstood
Causing mild shock
- unexpectedNot anticipated beforehand
- astonishingCausing great wonder
- remarkableWorthy of attention
- incredibleDefying easy belief
unbelievable · naturally · obviously · wonder · shocked · amazed · astounded · stunned
barely
Only just, almost not
narrowly · slightly · minimally · faintly · marginally · by a hair · imperceptibly · a little · meagerly · sparsely
not really
Mild negative response
doubtful · improbable · questionable · unconvincing · unbelievable · implausible · far from · nowhere near · nothing like · not at all
struggled
Exerted with difficulty
wrestled · grappled · endured · persevered · managed · coped · survived · weathered · withstood · fought
surprising
Causing mild shock
- unexpectedNot anticipated beforehand
- astonishingCausing great wonder
- remarkableWorthy of attention
incredible · unbelievable · naturally · obviously · wonder · shocked · amazed · astounded · stunned · disbelief
- intensifiersvery, really, extremely, absolutely, incredibly
- not reallynot quite, sort of, kind of, maybe, barely
- polarity wordsany, anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere
- frequency wordsalways, never, often, sometimes, usually
- infrequencyrarely, seldom, infrequent, infrequently, occasionally
- Precision Wordsexact, precision, accuracy, precise, accurate
hardlycompletely
To the fullest extent
fully · entirely · totally · thoroughly · extremely
hardlydefinitely
With complete certainty
certainly · unquestionably · undoubtedly · positively · clearly
- hard workSustained strenuous effort
- work hardExpend serious effort
- hard timeStruggle or imprisonment
- hard driveComputer's internal storage device
- hardly everAlmost not at all
- the hard wayThrough difficulty, not ease
hard, harden, hardship, hardness, hardened, harder, hardening, hardens, hardest