as in slightly
by a very small margin
we barely made it to the church on time
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Recent Examples of barely
No, Tucker isn’t playing (because Tom Thibodeau barely plays reserves), but his veteran voice continues to resonate.
—
Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 17 May 2025
Wiener’s bill has made its way through two committee, but only barely escaped one over the objections its chair.
—Ben Christopher, Mercury News, 16 May 2025
Ellie’s resourcefulness, and her understanding that she can be bitten without turning, barely gets them out alive, and forces her to tell Dina the truth about her immunity.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 May 2025
Just a whisper south of Palm Beach, the tiny seaside town of Manalapan—barely 2.4 square miles and home to fewer than 500 residents—has suddenly become the South Florida destination of choice for the world’s wealthiest home buyers.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 4 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for barely
Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 17 May 2025
Wiener’s bill has made its way through two committee, but only barely escaped one over the objections its chair.
—Ben Christopher, Mercury News, 16 May 2025
Ellie’s resourcefulness, and her understanding that she can be bitten without turning, barely gets them out alive, and forces her to tell Dina the truth about her immunity.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 May 2025
Just a whisper south of Palm Beach, the tiny seaside town of Manalapan—barely 2.4 square miles and home to fewer than 500 residents—has suddenly become the South Florida destination of choice for the world’s wealthiest home buyers.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 4 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for barely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barely
Adverb
-
The singer had just gotten off the road from her Strip Love arena tour.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
15 May 2025
-
The Oilers got out in front early, scoring just 1:27 into the game off the stick of Adam Henrique, his second goal of the playoffs, which turned out to be all the Oilers would need.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 May 2025
Adverb
-
Valkyria was rarely featured, hardly pushed, and never got a true chance to show off any type of personality or passion.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
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According to Cooley, come July, there will hardly be any sign of cicadas minus the holes in the ground and the eggs in the trees.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
11 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barely. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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