Hardly ever, rarely, scarcely, seldom
Hardly ever, rarely, scarcely and seldom are frequency adverbs. We can use them to refer to things that almost never happen, or do not happen very often. They have a negative meaning. We use them without not. Rarely, scarcely and seldom are more common in writing than in speaking: …

hardly | American Dictionary

hardly
adverb[ not gradable ]
us/ˈhɑrd·li/

hardlyadverb[not gradable] (ONLY JUST)

only just or almost not:
Hardly a day passes that I don’t think about it.
You’ve hardly eaten anything.
Something is wrong with the phone – I can hardly hear you.
I can hardly wait for your visit.
We hardly ever see them anymore.

hardlyadverb[not gradable] (CERTAINLY NOT)

certainly not:
It’s hardly surprising that he was angry.

Examples of hardly

hardly
Though that is hardly a brief for paternalism, it should make us-at least those of us with liberal sympathies-rather concerned.
Such struggles over the principle of succession were hardly unique in the contested politics of indirect rule.
Another observation is that target-deviant omissions hardly ever concern subjects in group 1 children.
In fact, it is hardly correct to speak about a strategy.
The conclusion of the paper is that it is hardly possible to explain the similarities in the contact patterns with the help of macro-sociolinguistic factors.
The type of onset had hardly any effect whereas the offset consonant had a marked influence.
Teachers' beliefs and motivation are also hardly ever researched.
Now the field is rapidly evolving, which means that this article can hardly be more than a snapshot of the knowledge as of 2001.
Their conclusion is, however, hardly general, as the authors themselves admit.
They are hardly quoted in the debate, possibly assuming that they are fixed.
Such was hardly the case in pre-war resumptions.
Furthermore, an immediate transplant for this patient would hardly be a good for her.
From a human rights point of view, the value of testimony can hardly be exaggerated.
In laterite outcrops, where the influence of the rains is hardly felt, large expanses of small bamboos of stunted appearance are met with.
Again, there was hardly any growth till week 30, and then a very rapid incline between weeks 30 and 40.
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