barely

The word “barely” means only just; by the smallest possible margin. In plain terms, just barely, by a hair, almost not.

“Barely” is pronounced BEH-uh-lee (/ˈbɛɹ.li/ in IPA).

Here is “barely” used in a sentence: “She barely passed the exam.”

“Barely” is an adverb.

The word “barely” comes from Old English. From Old English bærlīċe, built from "bare" plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly" — originally meaning something closer to "openly" before it shifted to mean "just barely.".

“Barely” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Barely” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: only just; by the smallest possible margin.

Both mean almost not at all, and often swap freely; "I could barely hear" and "I could hardly hear" mean much the same. The slight difference is emphasis: "barely" points to only just reaching a threshold, while "hardly" leans towards not reaching it. Both carry a limiting, near-negative force.

They can be near-opposites in outcome. "Barely made the train" means you just caught it, succeeding by a whisker. "Nearly made the train" means you just missed it, almost succeeding but failing. Barely marks a narrow success; nearly marks a narrow failure.

"She had barely enough money for the ticket" means she had just enough, with nothing to spare. Other examples: "He was barely awake," "the paint had barely dried," and "we barely made it in time." Each shows something only just true, by the smallest margin.