The word "barely" is correct and usable in written English. It is an adverb, and it is typically used to mean "only just" or "hardly". For example, you could say "I barely had enough time to finish the project".
My cock was barely a ghost, but I did not suffer panic.
Revelations that Michael Jordan had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars gambling barely dented his appeal, since the story reinforced the image of him as a fierce competitor.
Rodríguez had barely used Ramírez during the qualifiers but had come under immense pressure from fans to bring the player nicknamed 'El Pelé' to the World Cup.
In 2012, a bidding war for GMG Radio – the third largest radio group in the UK – resulted in Global Radio paying £70m for the barely profitable operation.
Kaarma's girlfriend, Janelle Pflager, said in a 911 call played for jurors Friday that Dede was lying face down and "barely breathing" after Kaarma shot him.
Yet for all of this effort, the polls have barely moved in months, a hung parliament looks inevitable and the manifestos have been written as coalition bargaining positions rather than binding promises.
It's day four so I'm barely bleeding, but I'm still wearing a sanitary pad.
Being a terminologist, I care about word choice. Ludwig simply helps me pick the best words for any translation. Five stars!
Maria Pia Montoro
Terminologist and Q/A Analyst @ Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union