hardly

English

Etymology

From hard +‎ ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈhɑːdli/
• (US) IPA: /ˈhɑɹdli/, X-SAMPA: /"hArdli/,

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Adverb

hardly (comparative more hardly, superlative most hardly)

1. (manner, obsolete) Firmly, vigorously, with strength or exertion.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Folio Society 2006, vol. 1 p. 148:

     Let him hardly be possest with an honest curiositie to search out the nature and causes of all things [...].

2. (manner, archaic) Harshly, severely.

   I can't really deal hardly with people.

3. (now rare) With difficulty.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Folio Society 2006, vol. 1, p. 234:

     And what gentle flame soever doth warme the heart of young virgins, yet are they hardly drawne to leave and forgoe their mothers, to betake them to their husbands [...].

   • 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society 2010, p. 40:

     While in Chelsea, Anne Smiley pined, taking very hardly to her unaccustomed role of wife abandoned.

4. (degree) Barely, only just, almost not.

   I hardly ever watch television.

   I hardly think they'll come in this bad weather.

   It is hardly possible he could lose the election.

   • 2011 November 3, David Ornstein, “Macc Tel-Aviv 1 - 2 Stoke”, BBC Sport:

     With this the second of three games in seven days for Stoke, it was hardly surprising to see nine changes from the side that started against Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday.

Usage notes

In the sense "barely", it is grammatically a negative word. It therefore collocates with ever rather than never.

• Compare example sentence with I almost never watch television

Synonyms

• (barely): scarcely

Translations

harshly

• French: dur (fr), durement (fr)
• Icelandic: af hörku, hakalega

• Portuguese: severamente (pt)

barely, only just

• Bulgarian: едвам (bg) (edvám)
• Catalan: a penes
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 幾乎不, 几乎不 (jīhū bù)

• Czech: sotva (cs), stěží (cs)
• Danish: knap (da)
• Dutch: nauwelijks (nl)
• Esperanto: apenaŭ (eo)
• Faroese: neyvan (fo)
• Finnish: tuskin, töin tuskin, hädin tuskin
• French: guère (fr), à peine (fr)
• Friulian: please add this translation if you can
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: kaum (de)
• Hebrew: בקושי (he) (bekóshi)
• Hindi: थोड़े (hi) (thoṛe)
• Icelandic: með naumindum, naumlega, ekki meira en svo, varla, tæplega, með erfiði, með fyrirhöfn
• Ido: apene
• Interlingua: please add this translation if you can

• Italian: appena (it)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: ئاسته‌م, جارجار

• Macedonian: одвај (mk) (odváj), едвај (mk) (edváj)
• Occitan: gaire (oc)
• Old French: a paine
• Portuguese: quase não
• Romanian: abia (ro)
• Russian: едва (ru) (jedvá), еле (ru) (jéle)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese Sardinian: appenas

  Logudorese Sardinian: accalaítzu, azìgu, izu

• Sassarese Sardinian: aìzu
• Scottish Gaelic: air èiginn (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian: jedva (sh)
• Spanish: apenas (es)
• Swedish: knappast (sv), knappt (sv)
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: ледве (uk) (lédve)
• Yiddish: קוים (yi) (koym)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Serbo-Croatian: tek
• Italian: quasi, mica

• Latin: dūrē
• Norwegian: så vidt

Interjection

hardly

1. Not really.

   I think the Beatles are a really overrated band. ― Hardly!

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: master · latter · fellow · #592: hardly · wind · drew · strength