hardly
only a very short time before
How often you will meet it
Rank 583 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 33,364 times across 175,177 chapters — 0.016% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 1,000 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
adverb
- only a very short time before also: barely, just, scarcely, scarce we hardly knew themhad scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open
- almost not also: scarcely, barely, scarce he hardly ever goes fishinghe was scarce sixteen years old
- slowly and with difficulty also: hard prejudices die hardhe was so dizzy he could hardly stand up straight
hardly in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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I hardly ever do it, so I'm not a good judge.
Gloria and Treeless Street · Annie Hamilton Donnell · Chapter 1
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How things had come about even yet she could hardly remember or comprehend.
Christian's Mistake · Dinah Maria Mulock Craik · Chapter 1
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He was a good fifteen years my senior, for one thing, though he hardly looked his forty-five years.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles · Agatha Christie · Chapter 1
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Mrs. Anderson was between them, putting out a quick hand; the boy hardly saw her as he took it.
The Courage of the Commonplace · Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews · Chapter 1
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But for this—as Frome sardonically reflected—it would hardly have occurred to Zeena to take any thought for the girl’s amusement.
Ethan Frome · Edith Wharton · Chapter 1