scarcely
Just barely so
Scarcely means barely or almost not: I could scarcely believe what I was hearing.
It emphasizes how close something comes to not happening or not being true.
Scarcely also means only just, with implications of recency: We had scarcely sat down when the phone rang.
The word carries a formal or literary tone that *barely* and *hardly* lack.
Only just, almost not
- hardlyAlmost not at all
- justFair and impartial
- only justBy the narrowest margin
- narrowlyBy a small margin
by a hair · marginally · slightly · fractionally · imperceptibly · faintly · minimally · infinitesimally
Not often occurring
- seldomOn few occasions
- infrequentlyNot happening often
- hardly everAlmost not at all
- almost neverOccurring very rarely
uncommonly · occasionally · sporadically · intermittently · once in a blue moon · few and far between · not often
To a lacking degree
- inadequatelyIn an insufficient manner
- meagerlyIn deficient quantity
- scantilyIn insufficient measure
- sparinglyIn limited amounts
skimpily · poorly · thinly · sparsely · deficiently · not enough · too little · short supply
barely
Only just, almost not
by a hair · narrowly · marginally · slightly · fractionally · imperceptibly · faintly · minimally · infinitesimally · by the skin of one's teeth
rarely
Not often occurring
- seldomOn few occasions
- infrequentlyNot happening often
- hardly everAlmost not at all
almost never · uncommonly · occasionally · sporadically · intermittently · once in a blue moon · few and far between · not often
insufficiently
To a lacking degree
- inadequatelyIn an insufficient manner
- meagerlyIn deficient quantity
- scantilyIn insufficient measure
sparingly · skimpily · poorly · thinly · sparsely · deficiently · not enough · too little · short supply
- adverbsquickly, slowly, very, really, now
- infrequencyrarely, seldom, infrequent, infrequently, occasionally
- intensifiersvery, really, extremely, absolutely, incredibly
- polarity wordsany, anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere
- Precision Wordsexact, precision, accuracy, precise, accurate
- frequency wordsalways, never, often, sometimes, usually
scarcelycertainly
Without any doubt
definitely · absolutely · surely · unquestionably · positively
- make oneself scarceDepart to avoid notice
- making oneself scarceDeliberately becoming unavailable
- made oneself scarceDeparted to avoid notice
- scarce as hen's teethPractically nonexistent
- make yourself scarce
- scarce resourceInsufficient available supply