World Languages Lexicon
10 Language-to-English Dictionariesmal
Pronunciation / Transliteration: mal
"Ela mal passou no exame."
Comprehensive Definitions & Senses
2 senses- 1
Only just; by a narrow margin.
"She barely passed the exam, scoring just enough to meet the minimum requirement." - 2
In a way that is hardly or scarcely the case.
"He barely had time to finish his lunch before the meeting started."
Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum
Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology
Derived from the Old English word 'bærlīce', combining 'bær' (meaning bare or naked) with the adverbial suffix '-līce'. Historically, it evolved from signifying something done in a plain or naked manner to its modern primary sense of almost not or by a very narrow margin.
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10 Global Lexicons: How "Barely" is said worldwide
Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration
à peine
Transliteration: a peine
"Elle a à peine réussi l'examen."
kaum
Transliteration: kaum
"Sie hat die Prüfung kaum bestanden."
appena
Transliteration: appena
"Ha appena superato l'esame."
apenas
Transliteration: apenas
"Ella apenas pasó el examen."
mal
Transliteration: mal
"Ela mal passou no exame."
बमुश्किल
Transliteration: bamushkil
"वह बमुश्किल परीक्षा में पास हुई।"
勉强
Transliteration: miǎnqiǎng
"她勉强通过了考试。"
간신히
Transliteration: gansini
"그녀는 간신히 시험에 합격했다."
かろうじて
Transliteration: karōjite
"彼女はかろうじて試験に合格した。"
Related Vocabulary Words to Explore
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A person who promotes or publicizes a particular organization, doctrine, or biased point of view, often using misleading or manipulative information.
A scarecrow or a grotesque figure set up in a field.
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