scarcely: Definition, Synonyms and Much More from Answers.com
- ️Wed Jul 01 2015
adv.
- By a small margin; barely: We scarcely made it in time.
- Almost not; hardly: We scarcely ever used the reserve generator.
- Certainly not: They could scarcely complain after such good treatment.
USAGE NOTE Because scarcely has the force of a negative, its use with another negative, as in I couldn't scarcely believe it, is regarded as incorrect. • A clause following scarcely is correctly introduced by when or before; the use of than, though common, is still unacceptable to some grammarians: The meeting had scarcely begun when (or before but not than) it was interrupted. See Usage Notes at double negative, hardly.
adv
Definition: barely
Antonyms: adequately, commonly, sufficiently
IN BRIEF: adv. - By a small margin; Almost not.
Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness
— Charlotte Bronte
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