hardly

adverb

hard·​ly ˈhärd-lē How to pronounce hardly (audio)
1
a
used to emphasize a minimal amount or degree
I hardly knew her. [=I didn't know her well at all.]
It's almost new—there's hardly a scratch [=there are almost no scratches] on it.
There's been hardly any [=almost no] news.
There's hardly any [=almost none] left.
Hardly anyone [=almost no one] showed up.
We hardly ever [=almost never] see you these days!
b
: by a narrow margin of time : only just
We've hardly begun.
c
: almost not
I can hardly believe it!
She was hardly able to control her excitement.
d
: certainly not
That news is hardly surprising.
That hardly seems fair. [=that certainly does not seem fair]
If you're satisfied with what you've got, you're hardly going to look for anything better.Flannery O'Connor
e
informal
used to soften a negative
… you can't hardly tell who anyone is or isn't.George Bernard Shaw
2
dated : with difficulty : painfully
… where the means of existence was wrung so hardly from the soil …Sir Winston Churchill
3
dated : in a severe manner : harshly
Things may go hardly with us … before the war is over.Nevil Shute
… he ranted on in a towering passion of wrath and grief. … He believed himself hardly used indeed.E. Barrington (Elizabeth Louisa Moresby Beck)
4
archaic : with force : vigorously
… earrings jangling down hardly on diminutive gold chains …Osbert Sitwell
Can hardly be used with a negative?: Usage Guide

Hardly in sense 1d is used sometimes with not for emphasis.

Just another day at the office? Not hardly.

In sense 1e with a negative verb (such as can't, wouldn't, didn't) it does not make a double negative but softens the negative. In "you can't hardly find a red one," the sense is that you can find a red one, but only with difficulty; in "you can't find a red one," the sense is that red ones are simply not available. Use of hardly with a negative verb is a speech form; it is most commonly heard in Southern and Midland speech areas. In other speech areas and in all discursive prose, hardly is normally used with a positive.

You can hardly find a red one.

Examples of hardly in a Sentence

It hardly matters what I think. The changes in service have hardly been noticed. There are hardly any new features in this software. Hardly anyone showed up for the meeting. Hardly a day goes by when I don't think about you. This is hardly a new idea for a movie. “Is this a new idea for a movie?” “Hardly! I've seen dozens of movies just like it.”
Recent Examples on the Web But that’s hardly the only example of the disconnect. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 For a movie that hardly requires any special effects, so much of it feels like it might as well have been filmed in front of a green screen. Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 8 Mar. 2024 Local election officials and national Republican leaders saw the North Carolina G.O.P.’s 2020 election-protection program as well organized, but hardly as the reason for Mr. Trump’s victory there. Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024 There is hardly a space in pop culture today that hasn’t been touched by Akira Toriyama’s art. Gene Park, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 But the president's remarks have hardly quelled the brewing outrage. Emily Green, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024 However, the off-catalog versions that Ambani wore are hardly meant to be roughed around. Rebecca Suhrawardi, Robb Report, 7 Mar. 2024 Only now has Washington appeared to accede to demands that Henry step aside—at a moment when prospects could hardly be less promising for a respectable, responsible democrat to ascend into the Haitian presidency, and when many armed criminals are at the ready. Amy Wilentz, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2024 The game, though, was hardly recognizable as some of the world’s best were reduced to stop-and-start, pirouetting Woodstock attendees. Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Time Traveler
The first known use of hardly was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near hardly

Cite this Entry

“Hardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hardly. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hardly

adverb
hard·​ly ˈhärd-lē How to pronounce hardly (audio)
1
: in a severe or harsh manner
deal hardly with them
2
: with difficulty
a hardly won victory
3
: only just : barely, scarcely
we hardly knew them
4
: certainly not
that news is hardly surprising

More from Merriam-Webster on hardly

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