scarce ‧ ly /ˈskeəsli $ ˈsker-/ BrE AmE adverb
1 . almost not or almost none at all SYN hardly :
The city had scarcely changed in 20 years.
The country had scarcely any industry.
He scarcely ever left the region.
can/could scarcely do something
It was getting dark and she could scarcely see in front of her.
scarcely a day/year/moment etc
Scarcely a day goes by when I don’t think of him.
2 . only a moment ago SYN hardly , barely :
He had scarcely sat down when there was a knock at the door.
3 . definitely not or almost certainly not SYN hardly :
Early March is scarcely the time of year for sailing.