hardly
/ˈhɑɹdli/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.53 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
Certainly not; not at all.
intj
Example Sentences
- "They hardly ever watch television."
- "It's hardly possible he could lose the election."
- "Hardly did I arrive when he left."
- "I could hardly have managed it in less time."
- "How lonely they looked as they lay there, and how ill assorted! That little heap had been for two thousand years the wisest, loveliest, proudest creature - I can hardly call her woman - in the whole universe."
- "I hardly think they'll come in this bad weather!"
Etymology
From Middle English hardely, hardliche, from Old English heardlīċe (“boldly; hardily; without ease; in a way that causes pain; not easily; only by degrees”), equivalent to hard + -ly. Compare Dutch hardelijk, German härtlich.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhɑɹdli/
- British English: /ˈhɑːdli/