scarcely

Từ điển American Heritage Dictionary 4th

scarce·ly (skârsʹlē)adv.
1. By a small margin; barely:
We scarcely made it in time.
2. Almost not; hardly:
We scarcely ever used the reserve generator.
3. Certainly not:
They could scarcely complain after such good treatment. 
Usage Note: Because scarcely has the force of a negative, its use with another negative, as in I couldn't scarcely believe it, is regarded as incorrect.·A clause following scarcely is correctly introduced by when or before; the use of than, though common, is still unacceptable to some grammarians: The meeting had scarcely begun when (or before but not than) it was interrupted. See Usage Note at double negative. See Usage Note at hardly.

• Từ đồng nghĩa / Synonyms:
  hardly, barely, just, scarce