scarcely
- 01 C1 Advanced
almost not at all; used to say that something is very nearly not true or not happening.
to a very small degree; almost not. Often used to emphasize that a state or action is barely present.
Simple“The music was so quiet that I could scarcely hear it from the back row.”
In context“The evidence was so thin that the prosecution could scarcely argue for a conviction without further witnesses.”
UsageUsually placed before the main verb or after the first auxiliary verb.
PitfallI couldn't scarcely believe it. I could scarcely believe it.Scarcely already has a negative meaning, so do not use it with 'not' or 'couldn't'.
Antonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
only just; used when something happens immediately after something else.
only just; by a very narrow margin. Frequently used in the construction 'scarcely... when' to describe immediate succession.
Simple“We had scarcely sat down to eat when the phone rang.”
In context“Scarcely had the ink dried on the treaty when the first reports of border skirmishes began to arrive at the capital.”
UsageWhen starting a sentence with 'scarcely' for emphasis, the subject and verb are inverted (e.g., 'Scarcely had I...').
- 03 C1 Advanced
used to say that something is definitely not possible or not true.
used to imply that a statement is certainly not the case or that an action is impossible.
Simple“He is so young that he can scarcely be expected to manage the whole company.”
In context“One can scarcely imagine a more disastrous outcome for the negotiations given the current political climate.”
UsageOften used with 'can' or 'could' to suggest that an idea is unreasonable.
Antonyms
“Across the course of our conversation, in bright sunshine outside a quiet hotel near Maidstone, it is evident that the 31-year-old could scarcely be happier about her decision to swap Barcelona for south-east England.”
“Arday wrote that becoming a professor at Cambridge was something he “could scarcely have imagined” as an autistic child who was “unable to speak until I was 11 years old”.”
From Middle English scarcely, scarsly, scarsely, scarsliche, scarseliche, equivalent to scarce + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.