But just; without any excess; with nothing to spare (of quantity, time, etc.); hence, scarcely; hardly; as, there was barely enough for all; he barely escaped.
by a small margin; "they could barely hear the speaker"; "we hardly knew them"; "just missed being hit"; "had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open"; "would have scarce arrived before she would have found some excuse to leave"- W.B.Yeats