barely meaning
barely :
almost not, only just
adverb
▪ She barely passed the exam.
▪ She almost did not pass the exam.
▪ He barely slept last night.
▪ He almost did not sleep last night.
paraphrasing
▪ hardly – almost not
▪ scarcely – almost not
▪ just – only just
▪ slightly – a little
Pronunciation
barely [ˈbɛər.li]
The stress is on 'bare' and sounds like 'bair-lee'.
Common phrases and grammar about barely
barely - Common meaning
adverb
almost not, only just
Part of Speech Changes for "barely"
▪ bare (adjective) – not covered or empty
▪ bareness (noun) – the state of being bare
Common Expressions with "barely"
▪ barely enough – only just enough
▪ barely visible – almost not seen
▪ barely audible – almost not heard
▪ barely survived – almost did not survive
Important examples of barely in TOEIC
Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test
In TOEIC vocabulary questions, barely often means something is almost not happening.
Example of a confusing word: nearly (almost)
Grammar examples from the TOEIC test
Barely is used as an adverb to show minimal action or effect in TOEIC grammar questions.
barely
Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC
barely there
means 'almost not present', used to describe something very faint or minimal.
barely make ends meet
means 'struggling to pay for basic needs'.
Differences between similar words and barely
barely
,
hardly
differences
Barely means almost not, while hardly also means almost not but is often used for difficulty.
Words with the same origin as barely
The origin of barely
The word 'barely' comes from the Old English 'bærlice', meaning 'openly or clearly', which evolved to mean 'just enough'.
Word structure
The analysis of the word's composition is unclear.
Words with the same origin
The word's root is unclear or difficult to confirm.
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