Hardly meaning

What does “hardly” mean? Definitions, examples, synonyms and opposites.

“hardly” is an adverb with 3 meanings. Its most common meaning is: only a very short time before.

hardly

only a very short time before
“we hardly knew them”
“had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open”
Synonymsbarely just scarcely scarce
almost not
“he hardly ever goes fishing”
“he was scarce sixteen years old”
Synonymsscarcely barely scarce
slowly and with difficulty
“prejudices die hard”
“he was so dizzy he could hardly stand up straight”
Synonymshard

Source: WordNet 3.1, Princeton University