adverb

The word "barely" is an adverb used to describe an action or situation that was done with great difficulty or just barely managed to happen. You can describe this as "hardly" or "scarcely" in another way. For example, "He barely passed the test" can be rephrased as "He hardly passed the test" or "He scarcely passed the test."

Example

1. The barely visible line indicated the beginning of the trail.
2. The workers had a barely noticeable improvement in their productivity.
3. The singer had a barely audible voice, making it difficult for the audience to hear her performance.