Barely
Barely adverb - By a very small margin.
Primarily
Primarily adverb - For the most part.
Usage example: ketchup is primarily made from tomatoes
Nearby Word: primary
Both words in one sentence
- Nonetheless, they still didn't let him join in on the Spider-Man Unlimited spinoff, which was primarily stand-alone format and petered out after barely reaching 13 episodes.
Source: Story Arc - During the Crisis Crossover which focused primarily on The Avengers but involved most other heroes, members of the super-hero community were subject to attacks by villains they had never fought before or barely even knew- ie.
Source: Unknown Rival -
This was carried out primarily by Oceanic Whitetip Sharks, who are notorious for being unstoppable (people tried explosives, they failed to do anything) when it comes to hunting, as their open-sea habitat is barely capable of sustaining them causing them to be starving all the time.
Source: Threatening Shark
Cite this Source
Primarily and Barely. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/barely/primarily
Barely & Primarily. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/barely/primarily>.
Primarily or Barely. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/barely/primarily.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "barely" and "primarily" have occurred on timeline