Vocabulary
Barely
English and Urdu gloss, synonyms and antonyms, and example usage from our editorial sentence cache where available.
English meaning
only just; almost not.
Urdu meaning
دلیری ذہنی خلفشار
Example sentences (from Dawn)
Sentences are selected from stored editorial text where your search word appears. If none appear yet, run the admin sentence generator for fuller coverage.
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The $7bn IMF loan is barely sufficient to repay the $6.78bn owed to the Fund itself during the same period, meaning Pakistan is borrowing to repay previous loans.
Dawn Editorials —
Economy on a cliff edge
— 2026-04-25
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In some areas, many motorcyclists have barely escaped drowning when their bikes fell into waterfilled ditches that emerged on the main and service roads.
Dawn Editorials —
Two-wheel dangers
— 2026-04-21
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But education barely improves the probability of finding employment in the first place.
Dawn Editorials —
Trapped in place
— 2026-04-20
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With the commendable exception of Spain, Europe is littered with regimes that are wary of Trump yet barely bothered by the genocide in Palestine, and determined to do all they can to shut down criticism of the perpetrator.
Dawn Editorials —
Hungary for change
— 2026-04-15
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Pakistan Railways freight handling has dwindled from73pc to barely 2-3pc.
Dawn Editorials —
Energy crisis as catalyst
— 2026-04-09
Synonyms
hardly, scarcely, just, only just, narrowly, by the skin of one’s teeth, by a hair’s breadth
Curator example
“she nodded, barely able to speak”
More vocabulary to explore
About this vocabulary section.
These entries support close reading of Dawn editorials and opinion pieces: short definitions,
Urdu equivalents where we have them, word relations, and—when generated—real lines from the editorial archive
so you can see tone and usage.
Common questions
- Do I need to sign up to use this vocabulary page?
- No. Word pages are open to everyone. You can read meanings in English and Urdu, synonyms and antonyms, and example sentences without creating an account.
- Where do the example sentences come from?
- When available, example sentences are drawn from cached matches in our Dawn editorial corpus so you can see how a word is used in real newsroom-style prose.
- How is this different from a dictionary?
- This section is curated for students preparing for competitive exams and editorial reading. Entries are compact, often include Urdu glosses, and are paired with in-context lines from editorials when we have them.
