scarcely — 1. The standard construction is scarcely…when…: • Scarcely had he begun when Claverhouse ordered him to rise A. Boyle, 1990. The construction with than, though increasingly common and perhaps suggested by the analogy of no sooner…than…, is non… … Modern English usage
scarcely — ► ADVERB 1) only just. 2) only a very short time before. 3) used to suggest that something is unlikely to be or certainly not the case: they could scarcely all be wrong … English terms dictionary
scarcely — [skers′lē] adv. 1. hardly; not quite; only just 2. probably not or certainly not [scarcely true] … English World dictionary
scarcely — index almost Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
scarcely — [adv] barely hardly, imperceptibly, infrequently, just, just barely, only just, rarely, scantily, seldom, slightly; concepts 541,789 Ant. adequately, commonly, sufficiently … New thesaurus
scarcely — [[t]ske͟ə(r)sli[/t]] 1) ADV BRD NEG: ADV before v, ADV group, oft ADV amount (emphasis) You use scarcely to emphasize that something is only just true or only just the case. He could scarcely breathe... I scarcely knew him... She seemed scarcely… … English dictionary
scarcely — adverb 1 almost not or almost none at all: Parts of the city had scarcely changed since we were last there. | scarcely any/ever: There s scarcely any coffee left. | can/could scarcely: It was getting dark and she could scarcely see in front of… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
scarcely — scarce|ly [ˈskeəsli US ˈsker ] adv 1.) almost not or almost none at all = ↑hardly ▪ The city had scarcely changed in 20 years. ▪ The country had scarcely any industry. ▪ He scarcely ever left the region. can/could scarcely do sth ▪ It was getting … Dictionary of contemporary English
Scarcely — Scarce Scarce, Scarcely Scarce ly, adv. 1. With difficulty; hardly; scantly; barely; but just. [1913 Webster] With a scarce well lighted flame. Milton. [1913 Webster] The eldest scarcely five year was of age. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Slowly she… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
scarcely — adverb Date: 14th century 1. a. by a narrow margin ; only just < had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open Agnes S. Turnbull > b. almost not < could scarcely see for the fog > 2. a. certainly not < could scarcely int … New Collegiate Dictionary
scarcely */*/ — UK [ˈskeə(r)slɪ] / US [ˈskerslɪ] adverb 1) almost not, or almost none I can scarcely believe what s happened. There was scarcely any traffic. 2) only just We had scarcely driven a mile when the car broke down. 3) used for showing that something… … English dictionary
