SCARCELY


Meaning of SCARCELY in English

adv. 1 hardly; barely; only just (I scarcely know him). 2 surely not (he can scarcely have said so). 3 a mild or apologetic or ironical substitute for 'not' (I scarcely expected to be insulted).

Concise Oxford English dictionary.      Краткий оксфордский словарь английского языка.