Hardly
Hardly adverb - Certainly not.
Usage example: I would hardly think someone with her attitude could make a good manager
Nearby Word: hard
Mostly
Mostly adverb - For the most part.
Usage example: the weather this month has been mostly mild
Nearby Word: most
Both words in one sentence
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Amusingly, save a select few examples, mostly as cameos, the Alternate Universes are hardly ever populated by actual CLAMP characters, but Alternate Universe instances of them.
Source: Massive Multiplayer Crossover -
Summer, the elder of the two, hardly goes a strip without reminding the reader just how very feminist she is, mostly by her utter scorn for anything with a Y-chromosome.
- Tragically deconstructed, though, Cutter has to learn that he was mostly blinded by nostalgia and that the changed so much he can hardly call Darujhistan home anymore.
Source: Literature / Toll the Hounds
Cite this Source
Mostly and Hardly. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardly/mostly
Hardly & Mostly. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardly/mostly>.
Mostly or Hardly. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardly/mostly.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "hardly" and "mostly" have occurred on timeline