- hard|ly
- hard|ly «HAHRD lee», adverb.2. not quite: »
His story is hardly true. He is hardly strong enough to lift that trunk.
3. probably not: »They will hardly come in all this rain.
4. with trouble or effort: »a hardly fought game, money hardly earned.
Synonym Study 1 Hardly, barely, scarcely mean only just, or almost not, what is named or stated. Hardly means near or close to the minimum limit, with little to spare: »I had hardly reached there when it began to rain.
Barely means just enough, with nothing to spare: »He eats barely enough.
Scarcely means almost not at all, not quite enough: »He has scarcely anything to eat.
Usage hardly. a a double negative involving hardly (or scarcely) occurs with such frequency in speech that it often goes unnoticed but is frequently not regarded as standard in writing: »He couldn't hardly run (for could hardly). He won hardly nothing (for hardly anything). He won without hardly trying (for without really trying).
b English has two approximately equivalent idioms exemplified by Hardly (scarcely) had he mailed the letter when he began to regret writing it and No sooner had he mailed the letter than he began to regret writing it. If the than of the second construction replaces the when of the first, the substitution is not regarded as standard.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
