as in slightly
by a very small margin
we barely made it to the church on time
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Recent Examples of barely
But inside one of the drawer shelves is a hidden passageway -- just barely large enough for an upright person to fit through, leading 15 feet underground.
—
Jeana Fermi, ABC News, 13 Feb. 2026
Interest keeps stacking up, card balances balloon, minimum payments will barely move the needle and even small financial surprises can throw your budget even further off track.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 13 Feb. 2026
His race is barely acknowledged in the movie.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 12 Feb. 2026
That started to go up in smoke three games into the season when Nuno left, and things have barely stopped burning since.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barely
Jeana Fermi, ABC News, 13 Feb. 2026
Interest keeps stacking up, card balances balloon, minimum payments will barely move the needle and even small financial surprises can throw your budget even further off track.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 13 Feb. 2026
His race is barely acknowledged in the movie.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 12 Feb. 2026
That started to go up in smoke three games into the season when Nuno left, and things have barely stopped burning since.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barely
Adverb
-
Once this economic leveling is accomplished, homestead exemptions can be reduced slightly.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Hudsonian whimbrels, to be exact, shorebirds about the size of crows with long, thin, slightly curved beaks.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The more massive the original star is, the shorter the post-AGB lifetime, down to a minimum of just over 1000 years.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The family was seeking safety in the town of Bohodukhiv, some 60 kilometers (38 miles) west of Kharkiv, having fled their home further east just days ago, Ukrainian police said in a statement posted on Telegram.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Germany's Lena Duerr will go into the second run narrowly behind Brignone, while another Italian, Sofia Goggia, sits in third place.—
Sean Nevin,
NBC news,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Any medical use should remain narrowly tailored, physician-directed, and tightly regulated.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The contrast with her party could hardly be sharper.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
-
But of course, this is hardly just about New York lawyers.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Barely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barely. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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