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Barley vs Hardly - What's the difference?

barley | hardly |

As a noun barley

is a cereal of the species Hordeum vulgare, or its grains, often used as food or to make beer and other malted drinks.

As an adverb hardly is

firmly, vigorously, with strength or exertion.

As an interjection hardly is

not really.

barley

English

(wikipedia barley) (Hordeum vulgare)

Noun

(en-noun)
  • A cereal of the species Hordeum vulgare , or its grains, often used as food or to make beer and other malted drinks.

    • Derived terms

    * barley-bird * barley-bree * barley-broth * barley-hood * barleymow * barley sugar * barley water * barley-wine * four-rowed barley * pearl barley * sea barley * sprat-barley

    Anagrams

    * * *

    hardly

    English

    Adverb

    (en-adv)
  • (manner, obsolete) Firmly, vigorously, with strength or exertion.
  • *, Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.148:
    • Let him hardly be possest with an honest curiositie to search out the nature and causes of all things.
  • (manner, archaic) Harshly, severely.
  • With difficulty.
  • *, Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.234:
    • And what gentle flame soever doth warme the heart of young virgins, yet are they hardly drawne to leave and forgoe their mothers, to betake them to their husbands.
  • * 1977 , , The Honourable Schoolboy , Folio Society 2010, p. 40:
    • While in Chelsea, Anne Smiley pined, taking very hardly to her unaccustomed role of wife abandoned.
  • (degree) Barely, only just, almost not.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 3, author=David Ornstein, work=BBC Sport
    • , title= Macc Tel-Aviv 1-2 Stoke , passage=With this the second of three games in seven days for Stoke, it was hardly surprising to see nine changes from the side that started against Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= The rise of smart beta , passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}

    Usage notes

    In the sense "barely", it is grammatically a negative word. It therefore collocates with ever rather than never. * Compare example sentence with I almost never watch television

    Synonyms

    * barely, just, only just, scarcely

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • Not really.
    • I think the Beatles are a really overrated band. &
  • x2015; Hardly !

    • Statistics

    * English degree adverbs