1
a
: by a narrow margin : only just
had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open—
Agnes S. Turnbull
Agnes S. Turnbull
b
: almost not
could scarcely see for the fog
2
a
: certainly not
could scarcely interfere
b
: probably not
there could scarcely have been found a leader better equipped—V. L. Parrington
V. L. Parrington
Examples of scarcely in a Sentence
He could scarcely control his joy.
Scarcely a day goes by when they don't see or talk to each other.
He had scarcely enough money.
This is scarcely a time to laugh.
I could scarcely tell them they were wrong.
Recent Examples on the Web
On a personal note, though, Webb can scarcely believe the direction his life and career have taken after that chance encounter with Sagnol all those years ago.
—Ben Church, CNN, 17 June 2024
His book is rich with close readings of cases that rely on sources scarcely ever used before and benefits from deep and fruitful quantitative analysis absent in most studies of the Court.
—The New Yorker, 12 June 2024
This impish figure scurries down the nun’s arm to disrupt the ceremony, causing Indika, who can scarcely believe her eyes, to lose her bearings and fall over.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 1 May 2024
Russia and North Korea could scarcely be more different.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scarcely 
Ben Church, CNN, 17 June 2024
His book is rich with close readings of cases that rely on sources scarcely ever used before and benefits from deep and fruitful quantitative analysis absent in most studies of the Court.
—The New Yorker, 12 June 2024
This impish figure scurries down the nun’s arm to disrupt the ceremony, causing Indika, who can scarcely believe her eyes, to lose her bearings and fall over.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 1 May 2024
Russia and North Korea could scarcely be more different.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scarcely
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scarcely.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near scarcely
Cite this Entry
“Scarcely.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarcely. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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