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Contraposition Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Barely

Barely 50% of the population voted.

Does 'barely' here emphasizes the smallness of the rate?
  

Top answer

Yes.

— GPY

  • Yes.
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4 Answers
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It means that the percentage voting only just reached 50%. It almost certainly was not as high as 55%, and possibly not even as high as 51%.
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contraposition Barely 50% of the population voted.Does 'barely' here emphasizes the smallness of the rate?
Not necessarily so much the 'smallness' of the rate, but rather the close proximity to (right at) 50%.
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PhilipNot necessarily so much the 'smallness' of the rate, but rather the close proximity to (right at) 50%.
I guess people vary in their interpretation then. For me, I can't imagine the sentence "Barely 50% of the population voted" being used if 50% was thought to be a high number or even a satisfactory number.
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