hardly

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adverb only a very short time before; ; ; ; ; - W.B.Yeats
  2. adverb almost not

Etymology

From Middle English hardely, hardliche, from Old English heardlīċe (“boldly; hardily; without ease; in a way that causes pain; not easily; only by degrees”), equivalent to hard + -ly. Compare Dutch hardelijk, German härtlich.

In classic literature

Synonyms

barely, just, scarcely, scarce

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