Definition of scarcely adverb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

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 news.
- There was scarcely a tree left standing after the storm.
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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 sooner
hardly / 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.
  In formal, written English, especially in a literary style, these words can be placed at the beginning of the sentence and then the subject and verb are turned around:
  Hardly/Scarcely had we sat down at the table, when the doorbell rang.
  Note that you usually use when in these sentences, not than. You can also use before:
  I scarcely had time to ring the bell before the door opened.
  No sooner can be used in the same way, but is always used with than:
  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.

See scarcely in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee scarcely in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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Nearby words

trait

noun

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