1
a
: by a narrow margin : only just
had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open—
Agnes S. Turnbull
Agnes S. Turnbull
b
: almost not
could scarcely see for the fog
2
a
: certainly not
could scarcely interfere
b
: probably not
there could scarcely have been found a leader better equipped—V. L. Parrington
V. L. Parrington
Examples of scarcely in a Sentence
He could scarcely control his joy.
Scarcely a day goes by when they don't see or talk to each other.
He had scarcely enough money.
This is scarcely a time to laugh.
I could scarcely tell them they were wrong.
Recent Examples on the Web
In the exhaustive Title IX investigation, her name scarcely came up at all.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
Though the former president is now scarcely seen, his mere longevity more than a year after beginning hospice has sparked important conversations about the benefits of end-of-life care.
—Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024
Her last year may have ended in ignominy, yet a scarcely conceivable afterlife of love and appreciation awaited her, had she but known it.
—Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
These trade-offs required sustained personal interactions among heterogeneous groups that scarcely existed in an earlier era, further reducing inequality.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
The Daily Meal points out that Cadbury's Curly Wurly bars are quite similar, and scarcely available in the U.S. — so perhaps that's what Sandler is able to get his hands on.
—Alex Cramer, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024
But of course, Thierry Mugler’s looks could scarcely ever be classed as ready-to-wear.
—Alice Newbold, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2024
The stage at the 17th Annual Women in Film Oscar Nominees was scarcely big enough for the impressive show of sisterhood on display.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024
Simon’s concerto was especially vivid in Milan, its vaguely phonetic two-note salvo sounding an alarm that scarcely relented.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024
Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
Though the former president is now scarcely seen, his mere longevity more than a year after beginning hospice has sparked important conversations about the benefits of end-of-life care.
—Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024
Her last year may have ended in ignominy, yet a scarcely conceivable afterlife of love and appreciation awaited her, had she but known it.
—Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
These trade-offs required sustained personal interactions among heterogeneous groups that scarcely existed in an earlier era, further reducing inequality.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
The Daily Meal points out that Cadbury's Curly Wurly bars are quite similar, and scarcely available in the U.S. — so perhaps that's what Sandler is able to get his hands on.
—Alex Cramer, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024
But of course, Thierry Mugler’s looks could scarcely ever be classed as ready-to-wear.
—Alice Newbold, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2024
The stage at the 17th Annual Women in Film Oscar Nominees was scarcely big enough for the impressive show of sisterhood on display.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024
Simon’s concerto was especially vivid in Milan, its vaguely phonetic two-note salvo sounding an alarm that scarcely relented.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scarcely.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near scarcely
Cite this Entry
“Scarcely.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarcely. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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