Scarce (Adverb)
Meaning 1
Only a very short time before; "we hardly knew them"; "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.
Examples
- She had scarcely finished her homework when her friends dropped by to invite her to the movies.
- I had barely closed the door when the phone rang.
- We had hardly known them a week before they moved to another city.
- He would have scarce arrived at the party before he received a phone call from his boss.
- I had no sooner set foot in the exam room than the proctor handed out the test sheets.