as in slightly
by a very small margin
we barely made it to the church on time
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of barely
Not bad for a fourth-round defensive tackle who barely weighed 290 pounds coming out of college.
—
Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2026
Some audience members shout callouts, but not loudly or consistently enough to register, leaving the cast awkwardly straining to acknowledge jokes that barely land.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Minimize the layers with a flowy linen dress, and go with barely there sandals to complete your outfit.
—India Roby, Glamour, 24 Apr. 2026
The world may have been upended by the war and the ink has barely dried on the Treaty of Versailles, but the society doyennes are doing their darnedest to return to the rituals and rites that used to govern our days.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barely
Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2026
Some audience members shout callouts, but not loudly or consistently enough to register, leaving the cast awkwardly straining to acknowledge jokes that barely land.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Minimize the layers with a flowy linen dress, and go with barely there sandals to complete your outfit.
—India Roby, Glamour, 24 Apr. 2026
The world may have been upended by the war and the ink has barely dried on the Treaty of Versailles, but the society doyennes are doing their darnedest to return to the rituals and rites that used to govern our days.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barely
Adverb
-
Think of him as a slightly bigger version of Darren Sproles.—
Sam Warren,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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This act of contrition is legible in East Asia, but slightly awkward when performed by Western actors.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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When the king talked about his Christian faith, GOP lawmakers were rowdier than Democrats, many of whom offered just tepid applause.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Then, not only that, just to be able to cash in, that’s like the next step there.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Daniels arrives later than those two did, in a year with high expectations after the Rams narrowly lost in the NFC Championship Game and with reigning MVP Matthew Stafford returning for another season.—
Nate Atkins,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Focusing too narrowly on the sweetener itself.—
Lynn Andriani,
Martha Stewart,
25 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Turns out, Riley hardly was speaking out of turn, with the NBA a day later releasing word of dramatic lottery changes that are expected to be finalized next month and put into play next year.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
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In some countries, the state of press freedom has hardly changed, like in China, North Korea and Eritrea — which ranked last for the third consecutive year, RSF said.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Barely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barely. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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