Certainly not
Hardly and certainly not are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Hardly" instead an adverb phrase "Certainly not".
Hardly
Hardly adverb - In a manner so as to cause loss or suffering.
Certainly not and hardly are semantically related. You can use "Certainly not" instead an adverb "Hardly".
Nearby Word: hard
Mutual synonyms
Both terms in one sentence
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Only 272 were built in total, with hardly any of these being present at Stalingrad, certainly not in the numbers shown.
Source: Video Game / Call of Duty -
They're strong-willed, but hardly cold or unapproachable (and certainly not stoic), varying in their personalities between smiling tricksters and borderline-psychotic Tsunderes.
Source: Gray Eyes
Cite this Source
Hardly and Certainly not. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/certainly_not/hardly
Certainly not & Hardly. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/certainly_not/hardly>.
Hardly or Certainly not. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/certainly_not/hardly.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "certainly not" and "hardly" have occurred on timeline