好词典

barely

UK //ˈbeəli//US //ˈberli//

词源

源自中古英语 'barely',与形容词 'bare'(赤裸的、仅有的)相关,最初表示“公开地”,后演变为“仅仅”的含义。

adverb

❶ 表示仅仅、勉强达到某种程度,常用来强调数量极少或情况接近极限。

“She was barely awake when the phone rang.”

(电话响起时她几乎还没醒。)

“The room was so small we could barely move.”

(房间太小了,我们几乎动弹不得。)

同义词:scarcely, hardly, just

常见短语

barely enough — 表示数量刚好够用,但非常接近不足的状态。

“We had barely enough time to catch the train.”

(我们勉强赶上了火车。)

barely noticeable — 形容事物微小或轻微到几乎无法被察觉。

“The difference between the two colors is barely noticeable.”

(这两种颜色的差异几乎看不出来。)