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used to say that something happens immediately after something else happens. He had scarcely put the phone down when the doorbell rang. Scarcely had the game started when it began to rain. used to suggest that something is not at all reasonable or likely. It was scarcely an occasion for laughter. She could scarcely complain, could she?
adverb. scarce· ly ˈskers-lē. Synonyms of scarcely. 1. a. : by a narrow margin : only just. had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open Agnes S. Turnbull. b. : almost not. could scarcely see for the fog. 2. a. : certainly not. could scarcely interfere. b. : probably not.
Hardly ever, rarely, scarcely and seldom are frequency adverbs. We can use them to refer to things that almost never happen, or do not happen very often. They have a negative meaning. We use them without not. Rarely, scarcely and seldom are more common in writing than in speaking: He hardly ever smiles. [a trout is a type of fish]
What does the adverb scarcely mean? There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the adverb scarcely , three of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
Scarcely means ‘almost not at all’. It is quite formal. It usually comes in the normal mid position for adverbs (between the subject and the main verb, or after the modal verb or first auxiliary verb, or after be as a main verb): …
Though an ly adverb, scarcely is unusual in that it is not so much a descriptor of its root adjective as a synonym of the adverb form scarce. If you scarcely believe me, look it up for yourself!
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You can use scarcely to say that something is not true or is not the case, in a humorous or critical way. It can scarcely be coincidence. If you say scarcely had one thing happened when something else happened, you mean that the first event was followed immediately by the second.
