{
    "term": "hardly",
    "partOfSpeech": "adverb",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "almost no; almost not; almost none",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "There's **hardly any** tea left."
                },
                {
                    "text": "**Hardly anyone** has bothered to reply."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She **hardly ever** calls me *(= almost never)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We **hardly know** each other."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I had hardly seen my father since that day."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It **hardly seems** fair to put all the blame on him."
                },
                {
                    "text": "**Hardly a day goes by without** my thinking of her *(= I think of her almost every day)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "At the time, I hardly spoke any French."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There was hardly a cloud in the sky."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "used especially after ‘can’ or ‘could’ and before the main verb, to emphasize that it is difficult to do something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I can hardly keep my eyes open *(= I'm almost falling asleep)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I **could hardly believe** it when I read the letter."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "used to suggest that something is unlikely or unreasonable or that somebody is silly for saying or doing something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He is hardly likely to admit he was wrong."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's **hardly surprising** she was fired; she never did any work."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's **hardly the time** to discuss it now."
                },
                {
                    "text": "You **can hardly** expect her to do it for free."
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘Couldn't you have just said no?’ ‘Well, hardly *(= of course not)*, she's my wife's sister.’"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He’s 24—hardly a baby."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "used to say that something has just begun, happened, etc.",
            "labels": "(formal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "We can't stop for coffee now, we've hardly started."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We had hardly sat down to supper when my phone rang."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Hardly had she spoken before she regretted it bitterly."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈhɑːdli/",
                "audio": "ha/hardly/hardly__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈhɑːrdli/",
                "audio": "ha/hardly/hardly__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": null
}