hardly passed

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "hardly passed" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to indicate that something was barely achieved or completed, often with a sense of difficulty or minimal success. Example: "She hardly passed the exam, scoring just above the minimum required."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Sport

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

And those 115 seasons have hardly passed without opportunities.

The New York Times - Sports

Murray, so often criticised for his rants, hardly passed a glance towards his box all afternoon.

The Guardian - Sport

It was all strange; Namath himself, still the best pure passer any of us has ever seen, hardly passed the ball at all.

The New Yorker

Argentina had hardly passed the ball in their three previous big matches, but they were less comfortable kicking deep against South Africa knowing that a decent return would mean a line-out in their own half, and that was the one area of the semi-final which the Springboks dominated.

The Guardian - Sport

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

They could hardly pass a ball.

The Guardian - Sport

That hardly passes for credible social science, though.

The New York Times - Arts

Loving Adventure Manuel Gomez Jr. could hardly pass up an adventure.

The New York Times

On the contrary, with a gun on my hip I could hardly pass as a peaceable noncombatant.

The New York Times

Barbican Hall, EC2, Wed JF The centenary of the most famous shipwreck of the 20th century could hardly pass without the work by Gavin Bryars that commemorates it.

The Guardian - Music

You can hardly pass a billboard in New York City without seeing her face plastered on advertisements for her new movie, "Maid In Manhattan".

The New York Times

The mannequin heads, attached as they were to the counter, occasionally required the hairdresser to perform a stranglehold and twist that would hardly pass muster in most salons.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "hardly passed", ensure the context clearly indicates the subject barely met the minimum requirement or standard. This phrase is most effective when emphasizing the narrow margin of success.

Common error

Avoid using "hardly passed" when the subject has clearly exceeded expectations or achieved a comfortable margin of success. This phrase is reserved for situations where success was minimal and almost didn't occur.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "hardly passed" functions as an adverbial modifier combined with a verb, indicating the degree to which an action (passing) was achieved. As Ludwig AI confirms, this combination is grammatically sound and serves to express a minimal level of success.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Sport

30%

Science

30%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "hardly passed" is a grammatically correct phrase used to describe a situation where something has just barely met a requirement, suggesting a minimal margin of success. The phrase is more frequent in news and sport contexts, as revealed by Ludwig AI. Although grammatically sound, it's essential to ensure the context reflects a genuine case of minimal success. Common alternatives include "barely succeeded" and "narrowly made it". When using "hardly passed", be sure it aligns with the overall tone and does not misrepresent the degree of accomplishment.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

barely succeeded

Emphasizes the minimal success achieved, focusing on the end result.

narrowly made it

Highlights the close margin of success, suggesting a precarious situation.

scarcely got through

Indicates a difficult passage or achievement with minimal margin.

just scraped by

Conveys a sense of barely managing to achieve the required outcome.

faintly approved

Implies that the approval wasn't hearty or absolute. It can only refer to contexts related to 'acceptance/approvals'.

marginally surpassed

Highlights that something exceeded the lowest threshold.

inadequately completed

Focuses on the quality of the completion, implying it was substandard.

hesitantly sanctioned

Highlights the reluctance or uncertainty in granting approval.

minimally exceeded

Indicates that an achievement was only slightly above the minimum.

nominally passed

Focuses on the fact that a passing grade was technically given, but not resoundingly.

FAQs

How can I use "hardly passed" in a sentence?

Use "hardly passed" to describe a situation where someone or something barely met a minimum requirement. For example, "She "hardly passed" the test, scoring just one point above the passing grade".

What does "hardly passed" mean?

"Hardly passed" means that someone or something barely succeeded, implying a very narrow margin between success and failure. The phrase emphasizes the difficulty and the slightness of the achievement.

What can I say instead of "hardly passed"?

You can use alternatives like "barely succeeded", "narrowly made it", or "just scraped by" depending on the specific context.

Which is correct, "hardly passed" or "passed hardly"?

"Hardly passed" is the correct word order. "Passed hardly" is grammatically incorrect and not commonly used. The adverb 'hardly' should precede the verb 'passed' in this context.