scarcely

/ˈskeəsli/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈskersli/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈskers-lē/ (ame, mw)

scarcely — adverb

1. used to say that something happens, exists, or is true only in an extremely smal

1.副詞B1
釋義

used to say that something happens, exists, or is true only in an extremely small degree — so close to zero that the result feels like almost nothing.

例句

The night before her final exam, Yuki scarcely slept — every topic kept running through her mind.

scarcely + verb (slept)

The names on the old gravestone were scarcely readable after a century of wind and rain.

同義詞
  • hardly

    more common in everyday speech; interchangeable in most contexts

  • barely

    focuses on the minimum threshold being reached; 'barely passed' suggests passing by the smallest margin

  • only just

    more informal British usage; 'only just made it' means the same as 'scarcely made it'

反義詞
  • easily

    opposite implication of quantity or degree

  • amply

    suggests there was plenty rather than almost nothing

文法句型

scarcely + verb

scarcely + adjective

scarcely any + noun

用法筆記

Often interchangeable with 'hardly' and 'barely' in this sense. 'Scarcely' is slightly more formal than 'hardly' in everyday speech.

常見錯誤

❌Scarcely I had any money left.
✅I scarcely had any money left.
💡'scarcely' goes before the main verb, not after the subject.
❌There was not scarcely any food.
✅There was scarcely any food.
💡'scarcely' already expresses near-negation; do not add 'not'.

2. used with past-perfect inversion to say that one event happened almost as soon a

2.副詞B1
釋義

used with past-perfect inversion to say that one event happened almost as soon as another event had finished — for example, 'scarcely had we arrived when the storm began' means we arrived and the storm started almost at the same moment.

例句

Scarcely had Etsuko sat down at her desk when the fire alarm began to ring.

scarcely had + subject + past participle + when + clause (formal inversion)

Scarcely had the rain stopped when the children ran outside to play in the puddles.

同義詞
  • no sooner

    used with 'than' instead of 'when'; 'no sooner had I arrived than...'

  • hardly

    can also express immediate sequence when used with past-perfect inversion: 'hardly had I left when...'

文法句型

scarcely had + subject + past participle + when + clause

用法筆記

This sense requires subject-verb inversion (auxiliary verb before subject) and uses the past perfect tense. A less formal alternative is 'no sooner...than...' (e.g. 'No sooner had she sat down than the phone rang').

常見錯誤

❌Scarcely I had finished eating when the doorbell rang.
✅Scarcely had I finished eating when the doorbell rang.
💡the auxiliary verb 'had' must come before the subject.

3. used to express a strong negative judgement — to say that something is definitel

3.副詞B2
釋義

used to express a strong negative judgement — to say that something is definitely not true, not reasonable, or not possible, even though someone might suggest otherwise.

例句

Ahmed could scarcely be called lazy — he worked twelve hours a day, seven days a week.

could scarcely be + past participle — polite strong denial

Sofia would scarcely have agreed to lend money to someone she had met only once.

同義詞
反義詞
  • certainly

    direct opposite in terms of certainty

文法句型

scarcely + be + complement

scarcely + verb

scarcely + adjective

用法筆記

This sense carries a tone of persuasive denial. It is typically used to argue against an opposing view that the speaker considers unreasonable. Distinguished from Sense 1 by the presence of a judgemental predicate — the sentence asserts that calling someone lazy or proving guilt is not just barely true but absolutely wrong.