# scarcely

> English word · Adverb · IPA /ˈskɛəsli/ · frequency rank #18,948

## Definitions
1. Probably not.
2. Certainly not, hardly at all.
3. Hardly: only just; by a small margin.

## Etymology
From Middle English scarcely, scarsly, scarsely, scarsliche, scarseliche, equivalent to scarce + -ly.

## Easily confused with
- **scarcity** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scarcely-vs-scarcity)
- **sparsely** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scarcely-vs-sparsely)
- **scarce** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scarce-vs-scarcely)

## Common misspellings (13)
`csarcely`, `sacrcely`, `scacrely`, `scarccely`, `scarcelly`, `scarcelyy`, `scarceyl`, `scarcley`, `scarecly`, `scarrcely`, `sccarcely`, `scracely`, `sscarcely`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/scarcely