barely

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++bare·ly /ˈbeəli $ ˈberli/ ●●○ adverb  1  JUST/ALMOST NOTonly with great difficulty or effort 勉强才能 SYN only just She was very old and barely able to walk. 她年纪非常大，只能勉强走几步路。 Mary had barely enough money to live on. 玛丽的钱只够勉强度日。barely audible/perceptible/visible/discernible etc His voice was barely audible. 他的声音勉强能听见。 She could barely understand English. 她勉强懂一点英语。2  almost not 几乎不 SYN hardly She was barely aware of his presence. 她几乎没有注意到他的存在。 Joe and his brother are barely on speaking terms. 乔和他哥哥几乎不说话。3  IMMEDIATELYused to emphasize that something happens immediately after a previous action 刚刚〔表示强调〕 SYN British English only just Graham had barely finished his coffee when Henry returned. 格雷厄姆刚刚喝完咖啡，亨利就回来了。4  used before amounts or numbers to emphasize that they are surprisingly small 只有，仅仅〔强调数量之少〕 SYN only Nowadays, the village has barely 100 inhabitants. 如今这个村庄只有100个居民。

Examples from the Corpus

barely• A visit to the site of Expo 92 barely 10 days before the opening left many questions unanswered.• The room was furnished barely.• They lost, but just barely.• There was barely a gallon of gas in the tank.• He had barely a mile to go before finishing the race.• And the stock barely budged from when he took over.• The staff here are barely coping with all the work.• We had barely crept any closer to our target.• She was barely eighteen, and pregnant with her second child.• 5000 gallons of water is barely enough to supply a fire truck for five minutes.• Dole himself, his voice cracking, can barely get through his words: This is a great honor for Bob Dole.• I'd barely gotten home when the phone rang.• His voice was barely loud enough to be heard at the back of the theatre.• Dave barely noticed my new dress.• The fog was so bad that we could barely see the road in front of us.• However, I was determined that I would marry him even though I'd only known him for barely six months.• She had barely slept 10 minutes before she was woken up again.• The class had barely started when the fire bell rang.• Our tiny apartment, it is true, is barely suited for two people, and certainly not for four.• Robyn could barely think, let alone string coherent words together to form an answer.barely able• His eyes were glassy and he seemed barely able to keep them open.• On my final night I tottered back after two shows barely able to put one knee in front of the other.• Some, because their interests lie elsewhere, may be barely able to read, and their writing may be rudimentary.• By the end of the evening, I was barely able to speak.• The police jeep and Boynes' vehicle were barely able to squeeze past.• Keith and the other man are slipping and sliding, barely able to stand up.• Cantor was barely able to utter this single word, so full of suspense, desire, triumph, and some deviousness.• Soon she was barely able to walk and she had oxygen cylinders fitted in her bedroom.

bare·ly adverbChineseSyllable  

with great difficulty Corpus or effort only

barely
bare‧ly /ˈbeəli $ ˈberli/ adverb
1. only with great difficulty or effort
   SYN  only just:
    She was very old and barely able to walk.
    Mary had barely enough money to live on.
    barely audible/perceptible/visible/discernible etc
    His voice was barely audible.
    She could barely understand English.
2. almost not
   SYN  hardly:
    She was barely aware of his presence.
    Joe and his brother are barely on speaking terms.
3. used to emphasize that something happens immediately after a previous action
   SYN  only just British English:
    Graham had barely finished his coffee when Henry returned.
4. used before amounts or numbers to emphasize that they are surprisingly small
   SYN  only:
    Nowadays, the village has barely 100 inhabitants.

bare·lyBrE /ˈbeəli/ 🔊NAmE /ˈberli/ 🔊 adverbin a way that is just possible but only with difficulty 仅仅；刚刚；勉强可能◆The music was barely audible. 音乐声勉强能听见。🔊🔊◆She was barely able to stand. 她勉强能站立。🔊🔊◆We barely had time to catch the train. 我们差点没赶上火车。🔊🔊in a way that almost does not happen or exist 几乎不；几乎没有◆She barely acknowledged his presence. 她只略微向他打了个招呼。🔊🔊◆There was barely any smell. 几乎没有什么气味。🔊🔊just; certainly not more than (a particular amount, age, time, etc.) 刚好；不超过（某个数量、年龄、时间等）◆Barely 50% of the population voted. 仅有 50% 的人口投票。🔊🔊◆He was barely 20 years old and already running his own company. 他只有 20 岁，却已经营起自己的公司了。🔊🔊◆They arrived barely a minute later. 过了不到一分钟他们就到了。🔊🔊only a very short time before 刚才；刚刚◆I had barely started speaking when he interrupted me. 我刚刚开始讲话，他便打断了我。🔊🔊

• Hardly, scarcely and barely can all be used to say that something is only just true or possible. They are used with words like any and anyone, with adjectives and verbs, and are often placed between can, could, have, be, etc. and the main part of the verb. * hardly、scarcely 和 barely 均可指刚刚、几乎不，与 any 和 anyone 等词以及形容词和动词连用，常置于 can、could、have、be 等和动词主要成分之间：◆They have sold scarcely any copies of the book. 这书他们几乎没卖出几本。◆I barely recognized her. 我几乎认不出她了。◆His words were barely audible. 他的话勉强听得见。◆I can hardly believe it. 我几乎不敢相信。◆I hardly can believe it.
• Hardly, scarcely and barely are negative words and should not be used with not or other negatives. * hardly、scarcely 和 barely 为否定词，不应与 not 或其他否定词连用：◆I can't hardly believe it.
• You can also use hardly, scarcely and barely to say that one thing happens immediately after another. 亦可用 hardly、scarcely 和 barely 表示刚…就…：◆We had hardly/scarcely/barely sat down at the table, when the phone rang. 我们刚在桌子旁坐下，电话铃就响了。 In formal, written English, especially in a literary style, these words can be placed at the beginning of the sentence and then the subject and verb are turned around. 在正式的书面语中，尤其在文学体中，上述各词可置于句首，然后将主语和动词的位置倒装：◆Hardly/Scarcely had we sat down at the table, when the phone rang. 我们刚在桌子旁坐下，电话铃就响了。 Note that you usually use when in these sentences, not than. You can also use before. 注意：在这类句子中通常用 when 而非 than，亦可用 before：◆I scarcely had time to ring the bell before the door opened. 我刚一按门铃，门就开了。 No sooner can be used in the same way, but is always used with than. * no sooner 与上述词用法相同，但总与 than 连用：◆No sooner had we sat down at the table than the phone rang. 我们刚在桌子旁坐下，电话铃就响了。
• Hardly and scarcely can be used to mean 'almost never', but barely is not used in this way. * hardly 和 scarcely 可表示几乎从不、难得，但 barely 不这样用：◆She hardly (ever) sees her parents these days. 这些日子她难得见到她父母。◆She barely sees her parents these days.