adverb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
barely adequate
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The standard of his work is barely adequate .
barely audible (= could only just be heard )
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His voice was barely audible above the roar of the crowd.
barely perceptible
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The sound was barely perceptible .
barely/hardly sleep (= to not sleep well )
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I’d hardly slept the night before the wedding.
barely/hardly visible
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The parked car was barely visible in the darkness.
barely/hardly/scarcely above a whisper (= only a little louder than a whisper )
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'Not me', he said, in a voice barely above a whisper.
barely/hardly/scarcely distinguishable
be hardly/barely awake
▪
George, barely awake, came stumbling down the stairs.
hardly/barely remember (= almost not at all )
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I can hardly remember him.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
able
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Some, because their interests lie elsewhere, may be barely able to read, and their writing may be rudimentary.
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The police jeep and Boynes' vehicle were barely able to squeeze past.
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Soon she was barely able to walk and she had oxygen cylinders fitted in her bedroom.
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Cantor was barely able to utter this single word, so full of suspense, desire, triumph, and some deviousness.
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On my final night I tottered back after two shows barely able to put one knee in front of the other.
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His eyes were glassy and he seemed barely able to keep them open.
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Still shocked and barely able to move; it's lucky to be alive.
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By the end of the evening, I was barely able to speak.
adequate
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They were clumsy to use, the striking surface barely adequate .
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But no one could suppose that the result could be more than barely adequate .
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They were barely adequate , but to tell the truth there was not much worth lighting up.
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Instead, he wrote a barely adequate , undistinguished letter.
audible
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During the succession crisis of 1730 complaints against compulsory service were barely audible even among the lesser nobility.
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The music in the restaurant is barely audible .
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The sound was tar oft and barely audible .
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When Jim acknowledged him, a barely audible groan rippled through the room.
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At first, there were faint murmurings, barely audible even within the row, and self-conscious answers from the team leader.
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He spoke in a barely audible , husky growl - but it overlay the rumble of a harshly controlled anger.
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There was a smattering of light applause and a barely audible groan from the back.
aware
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I'd just like to know! she whispered to herself, barely aware of the tears sliding down her cheeks.
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Twenty-four hours ago she had been barely aware of his existence; now he seemed to be taking over her life!
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He was barely aware of the feeling.
conscious
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He was still barely conscious and hadn't the energy to be anything but himself.
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When I went to collect them, the sheep seemed barely conscious and the men looked like corpses.
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I was barely conscious of anything except the will to live.
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As she lay there, barely conscious , she heard the sound of a car engine approaching.
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The girl was now writhing and moaning faintly, barely conscious of what was happening to her.
discernible
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The shapes in the room were barely discernible .
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Amazingly, the contrast between his before and after physique was barely discernible .
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They had been conquered by Menelik but among them the Abyssinian imprint was as yet barely discernible , for which I was thankful.
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Behind them, a vague wall of audience, the faces barely discernible in bright, damp air.
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Beyond the small cell the light from the sconce was barely discernible .
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Somehow he'd scored the first small, barely discernible victory.
distinguishable
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The track continued along the bottom of the ravine but was barely distinguishable among the tumbled ruins of winter.
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His days were barely distinguishable one from another.
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Two groupings, with barely distinguishable names, have covered Teheran with photographs of bearded men and a few fully veiled women.
perceptible
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He gave a barely perceptible nod as if he had read her mind and applauded her attitude.
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This was followed by the barely perceptible rustle of snow crystals hitting the newly exposed portion of the roof.
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And slowly, slowly, so gradually that it was barely perceptible , the watchers became aware of a change.
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His voice carried a barely perceptible quaver.
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These immortal ideas, things barely perceptible are the most precious things of life.
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The roses in the garden of the aunts were covered by a thin, barely perceptible layer of dust.
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A barely perceptible delay as you gaze through it.
visible
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The footprints at sites 8 and 9 disappear very slowly; digestion products are barely visible even 30 minutes after mixing.
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At night, the light of candles and hanging lamps rose into the darkness so the high beamed ceiling was barely visible .
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The neon lights outside were barely visible through the sheen of condensation coating the inside of the cafe window.
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Mostly black on black, its central diamond is traced in faint gold and barely visible .
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From base camp the summit was barely visible , so on sighting the route our surprise was all the greater.
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Jim kindled the Easter fire, a blue flame at first barely visible above the silver rim of a white bowl.
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Up on the plain the driver appears to move arbitrarily between barely visible tracks.
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Jean Piaget is barely visible amid piles of clutter.
■ VERB
begin
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Inflation did eventually accelerate, and tight-money measures have barely begun to halt it.
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The second batch had barely begun to sizzle before the first was already gone.
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Hunger is classed as the worst form of malnutrition by the report, because it often cuts short lives barely begun .
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But by 1990-30 years later-that process had barely begun .
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As yet, the process of liberalizing the public service dimension of electricity has barely begun .
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Tacky barely begins to describe your actions in this mess.
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The sun had barely begun its climb into the sky when there was a renewed flurry of activity outside the university hospital.
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Though she was fifty-four, her career had barely begun .
breathe
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The air was so thick with smoke that one could barely breathe !
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With the smoke and the dust, he could barely breathe .
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The feeling of crisis was growing in him and he felt he could barely breathe .
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Afraid and angry because I could barely breathe , I still could not ask her why she had abandoned me.
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She longed for it to swallow her. Barely breathing , she closed her eyes.
conceal
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The party leadership - Neil Kinnock included - could barely conceal their delight when the vote was declared.
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Chutra, naturally, boasted all afternoon and treated my Kutchi friends with barely concealed disdain.
contain
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Yesterday the Kilshaws could barely contain their delight after learning of Mr Allen's arrest.
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When the imitation worked and the ball went in, I could barely contain myself.
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The mirror can barely contain me.
cover
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The women, who were on legal aid, were offered an out-of-court settlement which would have barely covered their legal fees.
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Add water to barely cover the cucumbers.
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But the payments he gets barely cover his expenses.
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Meanwhile, in another small saucepan, combine pearl onions and sugar with water to cover barely .
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He stepped into it and was dragged away by two rescue workers whose ankles were barely covered by the water.
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Add potatoes and enough water to barely cover everything.
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They covered barely a third of that distance.
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Make sure patties are just barely covered and add water as necessary to replace sauce that has cooked down.
exist
▪
In one sense, these worlds barely exist at all.
get
▪
Dole himself, his voice cracking, can barely get through his words: This is a great honor for Bob Dole.
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Then Hideo Nomo could barely get an out.
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Derek Bentley could not have taken anybody anywhere; he could barely get himself around.
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She barely got enough to eat, so the boys used to pay her with food.
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Very soon this rigidity starts to restrict movements and by the time we reach old age we can barely get around.
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She barely got a word in.
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But the payments he gets barely cover his expenses.
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I can barely get by on $ 60, 000 a year.
hear
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In the 45-minute journey from Sandton to Pretoria, I barely heard two words spoken.
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The flapping noise of windbreakers filled the air; you could barely hear the person next to you speak.
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I could just barely hear her yells and shouts, a thin wailing carried on the wind.
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As it was, we could barely hear the weather guy over the lousy phone hook-up.
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They ran after me, shouting, but I could barely hear because of the noise of the wheelbarrow.
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We could barely hear ourselves think.
keep
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Just pinch them off and plant in seed compost, which should be kept barely moist in a bright, warm place.
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Good grief I can barely keep my thoughts on my duties.
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I can barely keep them open.
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The latest update to your trusty old word processor can barely keep up with your keystrokes.
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Critics could barely keep to the constitutional pretence that the monarch was above political error.
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Now in 1997, speaking of the House, they came back, barely keeping their majority and with a wounded leader.
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Poor thing, he could barely keep his eyes open half the time, and now he had this skin condition.
know
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I had been in the division only about three months, and barely knew what naphtha was.
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If he had, he would not be facing deportation to a country he barely knows .
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This led them to conclude that they were uncouth, filthy creatures who barely knew how to look after themselves.
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He felt a peculiar bond with these men and women, though most of them he barely knew .
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To this end it has settled in countries that a few hundred years ago barely knew of the apple's existence.
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During the month of hectic packing and training at Fort Benning, I barely knew who they were.
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What Fabia ate that lunchtime, though, she barely knew .
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He was barely known at all.
look
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You could fire a starting pistol next to some and they would barely look up.
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Dan and Harry could barely look .
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A girl who looked barely older than herself opened it and smiled.
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She barely looks old enough to be a candy striper.
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Over there is even a young mother pushing her daughter in a stroller and barely looking winded.
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At the end the two of them barely looked at each other.
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He barely looked at me, but a wave of heat washed over me.
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She barely looks 18 but might be 20.
make
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What was then so preposterous that it barely made sense in the realm of satire has now miraculously become a reality.
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It was so dark he could barely make out the tree line on the distant shore.
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Smitten by war, the plains of Kyrenia were barren, and the sponge-divers of the Karpass had made barely a living.
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You can barely make out fragments of familiar scenes: a flood, a fire, a burning book.
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On the axe was some lettering so small and cramped that Jack could barely make it out.
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I could barely make out the men there.
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He barely makes enough money to pay his monthly rent.
move
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She had barely moved an inch when she was aware of the sound of footsteps.
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No one spoke all the way to Acra, and Streeter and Bartlett barely moved .
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They are both so badly swollen they barely move .
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The salamander, who now barely moved , could never have moved fast.
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The fact that he could barely move his wounded arm didn't improve his mood.
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I could barely move in it.
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The dollar was little changed against the yen during Tokyo trading, and the government bond market barely moved .
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The little three-point shooter takes the shots and sinks both of them so neatly that the net barely moves .
notice
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She barely noticed it at all as she stood for a few seconds in front of the mirror and pulled the comb through her hair.
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I barely noticed the dress she was wearing; what caught my eye was the necklace around her throat.
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I barely noticed , only my automatic-pilot reflexes making me slow to within ten miles an hour of the speed limit.
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As Connors spoke, I barely noticed our trip up the valley.
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Others barely notice the baskets of warm toast, the crisp bacon and popping champagne corks.
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I just met her that one time, and I barely noticed her.
reach
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On tiptoe, leaning against the rickety lower shelves to keep from toppling, she could barely reach the book.
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His rivals barely reach double digits.
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Nikitina barely reached the train's engineer in time with the right information.
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There was a starchy department head exchanging low fives and complicated hand slaps with a kid who barely reached his knee.
register
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He had barely registered this fact when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
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Fonda barely registers in an underwritten role.
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There was a faint sputtering noise behind, but he barely registered the sound or noticed the flicker.
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Until his strong third-place showing in the Iowa caucuses, Alexander barely registered in the polls.
remember
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He did not miss his music, and could barely remember his performing days.
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But she can barely remember what happened yesterday.
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That seems such ages ago, I can barely remember it.
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What that had been in those days - power, prophecy, service, love-I could barely remember .
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Anne spent 3 months in hospital and can barely remember this royal visit.
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I could barely remember what a bed looked like.
see
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The lighting was so bad he could barely see where he was going.
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It was dark, and I could barely see his face.
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We lived in a barracks in the End, barely saw the inside of the tube for ten weeks.
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I can barely see him in this moonlight.
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Nomatterhow much he wiped at the condensation on the window, he could still barely see what was going on out there.
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He could barely see over the stack of hatboxes he was carrying.
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I could barely see ten yards because of the glare, and it was no use trying to look far ahead.
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Curtis had placed his book bag on the table between us, so that I could barely see him.
seem
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The elements in this mixture barely seem to hang together; or rather, radical disjunctions are part of the effect.
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When I went to collect them, the sheep seemed barely conscious and the men looked like corpses.
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His eyes were glassy and he seemed barely able to keep them open.
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At first the momentous events unfolding in Rome seemed barely relevant.
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Her career seemed barely more distinguished than that of Charlie McCarthy, the monocled dummy of her ventriloquist father, Edgar Bergen.
speak
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We've barely spoken to each other ever since my mum's lived at his place.
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When I see Marshall Douglas on the street, I can barely speak to him.
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During the first session Susie barely spoke at all.
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But when they got back, he barely spoke to them.
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Noguchi was to spend four years at the Hights, taking meals, working in the garden, barely speaking .
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But when she came up to me after that third seminar I was so shocked and embarrassed that I could barely speak .
stand
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He didn't even notice the tannoy, he was already as tired as I was and he could barely stand .
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With the breath sucked out of her lungs, she could barely stand upright in the face of the gusts.
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The roofs of the towers look as though they would barely stand the rigours of a light breeze, let alone a rain storm.
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With his bladder about ready to burst, Gao Yang could barely stand straight, let alone speak.
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Buddie had beaten her with a stick until her mouth bled and she could barely stand .
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Even though he could barely stand , John made one last desperate bid for survival.
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Sead, who had been much more harshly treated than Nijaz, could barely stand as they met yesterday.
start
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For all the size of the Byrd discography, we have barely started to discover them.
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He had barely started oul and already he was there.
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This compares with about £560 million in 1970, when bank credit cards had barely started .
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They've barely started dating, and they don't live together.
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Indeed, even today, the social history of ordinary ageing in this country has barely started .
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The business of disarming the 20,000 Renamo rebels and the 40,000 government troops has barely started .
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I believe that it has barely started .
survive
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Over the years, however, the tribes have become increasingly marginalised and their rich cultures and traditions have barely survived .
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Some of them are barely surviving as it is.
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The top pitch had barely survived one day's assault by the ice brigade.
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While this was a victory and there was even a small wage increase, the Local had barely survived .
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Novy Mir today barely survives with only 100,000 subscribers.
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The FRAIhait, an unofficial but virtual Communist party organ, is barely surviving .
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After barely surviving her ordeal, the young woman began years of reconstructive surgery.
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His lobster-red elbow digs into my arm as he stands to adjust the nozzle. 1 barely survive the flight.
touch
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They argue for ways to enhance health care that the Government can barely touch .
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I came home from school as I had arrived: fast, my feet barely touching the pavement.
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Photography and film were the media of the past 100 years, and the National Portrait Gallery barely touches the subject.
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We took another shower and fell asleep, barely touching .
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Even barely touching him, she could feel the taut power of the muscles beneath her hand.
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Even questions of iconography were barely touched upon.
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Luke stopped trying before she did, barely touching her and becoming increasingly uncommunicative.
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E-e started kissing her crotch, very gently, his lips barely touching the fabric.
understand
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This can lead to unpredictable effects since genes operate in highly complex relationships which are barely understood .
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I barely understood any of the cultural references that they took for granted.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
5000 gallons of water is barely enough to supply a fire truck for five minutes.
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Dave barely noticed my new dress.
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He had barely a mile to go before finishing the race.
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His voice was barely loud enough to be heard at the back of the theatre.
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I'd barely gotten home when the phone rang.
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She had barely slept 10 minutes before she was woken up again.
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She was barely eighteen, and pregnant with her second child.
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The class had barely started when the fire bell rang.
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The fog was so bad that we could barely see the road in front of us.
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The room was furnished barely .
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The staff here are barely coping with all the work.
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There was barely a gallon of gas in the tank.
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They lost, but just barely .
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
A visit to the site of Expo 92 barely 10 days before the opening left many questions unanswered.
▪
And the stock barely budged from when he took over.
▪
Dole himself, his voice cracking, can barely get through his words: This is a great honor for Bob Dole.
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However, I was determined that I would marry him even though I'd only known him for barely six months.
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Our tiny apartment, it is true, is barely suited for two people, and certainly not for four.
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Robyn could barely think, let alone string coherent words together to form an answer.
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We had barely crept any closer to our target.