Barely
Barely adverb - By a very small margin.
Hardly ever and barely are semantically related In some cases you can use "Hardly ever" instead an adverb "Barely".
Hardly ever
Barely and hardly ever are semantically related in infrequently topic. Sometimes you can use "Barely" instead an adverb phrase "Hardly ever", if it concerns topics such as not often.
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- extremely and barely
- extremely and hardly ever
- somewhat and barely
- somewhat and hardly ever
- little and barely
- little and hardly ever
- hardly and barely
- hardly and hardly ever
- seldom and barely
- seldom and hardly ever
- rarely and barely
- rarely and hardly ever
- infrequently and barely
- infrequently and hardly ever
Both terms in one sentence
-
They can barely remember the students' name, and hardly ever bother to read their thesis draft.
Source: Webcomic / PHD -
Their relationship tends to be barely on the right side of saccharine sweet, since they are very clingy and hardly ever seem to quarrel.
Source: Manga / Binbou Shimai Monogatari - Ghost Whisperer: An interesting example is Melinda and Jim, because they are the main couple, the relationships of her friends get barely any attention, they hardly ever fight, they don't have kids, and it's a drama.
Source: Happily Married / Live-Action TV
Cite this Source
Hardly ever and Barely. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/barely/hardly_ever
Barely & Hardly ever. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/barely/hardly_ever>.
Hardly ever or Barely. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/barely/hardly_ever.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "barely" and "hardly ever" have occurred on timeline