Adverb

(en adverb)

In a stiff manner.

* 1898 , , (Moonfleet) Chapter 5

'Twas Mr. Glennie who first moved to seek me; for when the second day came that I was not at school, he thought that I was ill, and went to my aunt's to ask how I did, as was his wont when any ailed. But Aunt Jane answered him stiffly that she could not say how I did.

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.}}