Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Hardly \Hard"ly\, adv. [AS. heardlice. See {Hand}.]
   1. In a hard or difficult manner; with difficulty.

            Recovering hardly what he lost before. --Dryden.

   2. Unwillingly; grudgingly.

            The House of Peers gave so hardly thei? consent.
                                                  --Milton.

   3. Scarcely; barely; not guite; not wholly.

            Hardly shall you one so bad, but he desires the
            credit of being thought good.         --South.

   4. Severely; harshly; roughly.

            He has in many things been hardly used. --Swift.

   5. Confidently; hardily. [Obs.] --Holland.

   6. Certainly; surely; indeed. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Source : WordNet®

hardly
     adv 1: 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 [syn: {barely}, {just},
             {scarcely}, {scarce}]
     2: almost not; "he hardly ever goes fishing"; "he was hardly
        more than sixteen years old"; "they scarcely ever used the
        emergency generator" [syn: {scarcely}]