Definition of barely
almost not
The word of barely is hard to understand. As you read the definition, barely is not "completely not" but "very close to not". Let's read example sentences.
He was very old and barely able to walk.
The above sentence means "He can walk by himself but speed of his walk is very slow or he can walk in short distance".
He lost his job six months ago, but he had barely enough money to pay for his rent.
In this case, "he can pay for his rent but he doesn't have enough money because he lost his job six months ago". Sometimes "barely" is used with "can".
Sorry, but I can barely hear you. Could you call me back when you go back to your office?
"I can barely hear you" means "I can hear you but your voice is very small or your voice is disturbed by noise around you".
Synonyms of barely
hardly
Meaning of "hardly" is the same as "barely". "hardly" is also used with "can" frequently.I can hardly believe it.
