bare·ly 
/ˈbeɚli/ adverb
/ˈbeɚli/ adverb 1 a : hardly or scarcely — used to say that something was almost not possible or almost did not happen ▪ I barely recognized you with your hair cut short. ▪ He could barely walk/read/write. ▪ His voice was barely audible above the sound of the river. ▪ The boat was barely visible off the coast. ▪ We barely [=almost do not] have enough money to pay the bills. ▪ I barely [=almost do not] have time to eat my lunch. ▪ He barely made his flight. [=he almost was too late for his flight]
b — used to say that someone or something only has a specified small size, age, length, etc. ▪ The movie is (just) barely an hour long. ▪ He's barely a teenager. ▪ She's barely four feet tall. ▪ Barely 50 percent of the population voted.
c — used to say that something reached a specifed condition or happened only a short time before ▪ The paint is barely dry. ▪ They had barely [=just] set up the tents when it started to rain. 2 a : almost not at all
▪ We barely spoke the entire time we were in the car. ▪ I barely knew him.
b : almost not
▪ There are barely any new features in this software. ▪ There is barely a difference between the two.
b — used to say that someone or something only has a specified small size, age, length, etc. ▪ The movie is (just) barely an hour long. ▪ He's barely a teenager. ▪ She's barely four feet tall. ▪ Barely 50 percent of the population voted.
c — used to say that something reached a specifed condition or happened only a short time before ▪ The paint is barely dry. ▪ They had barely [=just] set up the tents when it started to rain.
▪ We barely spoke the entire time we were in the car. ▪ I barely knew him.
b : almost not
▪ There are barely any new features in this software. ▪ There is barely a difference between the two.
