Hardly
Hardly adverb - In a manner so as to cause loss or suffering.
Nothing but and hardly are semantically related In some cases you can use "Nothing but" instead an adverb "Hardly".
Nearby Word: hard
Nothing but
Hardly and nothing but are semantically related in barely topic. You can use "Hardly" instead an adverb phrase "Nothing but".
Both terms in one sentence
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She'd hardly let buying a sports car slide if he rolled up in it wearing nothing but driving gloves.
Source: Naked in Mink -
Defeating the final boss wearing nothing but underpants is not only possible, but hardly more difficult than doing so in full plate-mail.
Source: Armor Is Useless -
Fanservice being so well established that the promotional posters for Jennifer's Body had nothing but Fox on the poster with hardly any indication what the movie was about.
Source: Creator / Megan Fox
Cite this Source
Nothing but and Hardly. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 29, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardly/nothing_but
Hardly & Nothing but. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardly/nothing_but>.
Nothing but or Hardly. 2016. Accessed July 29, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardly/nothing_but.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "hardly" and "nothing but" have occurred on timeline