How to Use scarcely in a Sentence

scarcely

adverb
  • This is scarcely a time to laugh.
  • I could scarcely tell them they were wrong.
  • Scarcely a day goes by when they don't see or talk to each other.
  • He could scarcely control his joy.
  • He had scarcely enough money.
  • Sleet turned to snow as the sun rose, with scarcely a car on the road.
    — Gerald Herbert and David J. Phillip, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2025
  • In the next were black storks, which have been scarcely present since the Middle Ages.
    — Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2021
  • The table was the object of tourist lore, scarcely a few decades old.
    — Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023
  • The rest of her words could scarcely be heard because of all the clapping.
    — NBC News, 8 Nov. 2019
  • Churilyana, 90, has scarcely left her apartment for the past five years.
    — Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2022
  • The central star is just one-twelfth the mass of the Sun and scarcely bigger than the planet Jupiter.
    — Amaury Triaud, The Atlantic, 2 May 2017
  • But the truth is, you are scarcely allowed the freedom to turn your brain off.
    — Sarah Bregel, Parents, 3 July 2024
  • The smallest species are scarcely more than an inch long and the largest may reach more than two feet.
    — New York Times, 9 July 2021
  • The guys don’t make sense as friends, which scarcely matters at that point.
    — Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 2 July 2019
  • In the city, scanning the skies showed only clouds, and gave scarcely a glimpse of the moon, if it could be seen at all.
    — Martin Weil, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2023
  • To be fair, Leto is scarcely alone in his quest for excess.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2021
  • And for a while, each couple scarcely amounts to more than a broad stroke and a conflict.
    — Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 27 Jan. 2025
  • And for a while, each couple scarcely amounts to more than a broad stroke and a conflict.
    — Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 17 Mar. 2025
  • But in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, it was scarcely heard.
    — Abigail Tracy, The Hive, 18 May 2017
  • But in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, it was scarcely heard.
    — Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 18 May 2017
  • Many fans can scarcely wait for the tournament to start and all the rest to recede for a spell.
    — Christopher Schnaars, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2018
  • Democrats can scarcely hide their sense of panic and dread.
    — The Editors, National Review, 28 June 2024
  • The apartment, scarcely altered since, is a shrine to Pesce.
    — Matthew Schneier, Curbed, 14 Sep. 2021
  • The debate inside the A.C.L.U. proved scarcely less charged.
    — New York Times, 6 June 2021
  • In symbolic terms, the two bears scarcely belong to the same species.
    — Rob Nixon, Smithsonian, 23 Mar. 2018
  • For many, the credentials of the 13-horse field scarcely mattered.
    — Liz Clarke, The Seattle Times, 18 May 2019
  • The notes had scarcely stopped when a bull answered from dense pines far below.
    — Bruce Brady, Outdoor Life, 12 Sep. 2024
  • This scarcely ranks on the list of important things, even when the world hasn't been turned inside-out.
    — Dominic Armato, azcentral, 4 May 2020
  • The Atlantic wind has become increasingly cold, but Brianna seems scarcely to notice.
    — Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
  • De Zerbi has already taken his squad away from their home this season, after doing something similar in November, but the stakes now could scarcely be higher.
    — Tom Williams, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scarcely.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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