scarcely

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Probably not.

   • One could scarcely find any trout in the stream without the stocking program.
   • The staff here are frequently in the news, thanks to their successful efforts to make an attractive station where travellers would scarcely expect to find one.
2. 2

   Certainly not, hardly at all.

   • One could scarcely expect the man to know how to fly a helicopter.
   • But, of course, this weather had put a stop to every kind of movement; for even if men could have borne the cold, they could scarcely be brought to face the perils of the snow-drifts.
3. 3

   Hardly

   Hardly: only just; by a small margin.

   • Scarcely had she arrived when she was put to work.
   • He had scarcely finished, when the labourer arrived who had been sent for my ransom.
   • It is scarcely possible to avoid comparing the eye to a telescope.

The neighborhood

• synonymhardly
• neighborrarely