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From these 41 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list The eighth entry is scarsamente , and it is the one word on this page an English reader will misread with complete confidence. The adjectives behind the pair do agree: scarso and « scarce » both say that there is not enough of a thing, and la merce è scarsa is goods in short supply. The adverbs went separate ways. « Scarcely » stopped measuring supply long ago and turned into a word about truth: « I scarcely know him », « scarcely had we sat down », « scarcely anyone came ». It pulls the whole statement towards not-quite, and the Italian that answers it is a malapena . Scarsamente did nothing of the kind. It stayed with the quantity and means insufficiently, sparsely, poorly. La sala era scarsamente illuminata is a badly lit hall, not a hall that was hardly lit at all; un testo scarsamente documentato is thinly sourced; una zona scarsamente popolata is thinly populated. The trap is that both readings make sense, so nothing warns the reader that a choice has been made. One of them says the lamps were weak. The other says there were hardly any lamps.
The words
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Adverb (31)
Grammar for these: Adverbs in -mente
trascurabilmente negligibly Adverb C2 Il valore si è spostato trascurabilmente. The value has shifted negligibly.
infinitesimamente infinitesimally Adverb C2 La differenza è infinitesimamente piccola. The difference is infinitesimally small.
marginalmente marginally Adverb C2 La proposta è stata marginalmente corretta. The proposal was marginally amended.
debolmente faintly Adverb C2 La lampada illumina debolmente il corridoio. The lamp lights the corridor faintly.
vagamente vaguely Adverb C2 Ricordo vagamente quella conversazione. I vaguely remember that conversation.
lievemente slightly Adverb C2 La temperatura è salita lievemente. The temperature has risen slightly.
scarsamente poorly Adverb C2 La sala era scarsamente illuminata. The hall was poorly lit.
difficilmente hardly (of improbability) Adverb C2 Difficilmente arriveranno prima di sera. They are hardly likely to arrive before evening.
modestamente modestly Adverb C2 La cifra è cresciuta modestamente. The figure has grown modestly.
moderatamente moderately Adverb C2 Il pubblico ha reagito moderatamente. The audience reacted moderately.
discretamente fairly well Adverb C2 La squadra ha giocato discretamente. The team played fairly well.
ragionevolmente reasonably Adverb C2 Il testo è ragionevolmente chiaro. The text is reasonably clear.
alquanto rather Adverb C2 La risposta è stata alquanto brusca. The answer was rather brusque.
sensibilmente appreciably Adverb C2 Il rumore è calato sensibilmente dopo mezzanotte. The noise dropped appreciably after midnight.
vistosamente strikingly Adverb C2 La copertina era vistosamente diversa dalle altre. The cover was strikingly different from the others.
nettamente markedly Adverb C2 La seconda versione è nettamente migliore. The second version is markedly better.
inconfondibilmente unmistakably Adverb C2 Il sapore è inconfondibilmente amaro. The taste is unmistakably bitter.
significativamente significantly Adverb C2 I tempi di attesa si sono ridotti significativamente. Waiting times have been reduced significantly.
considerevolmente considerably Adverb C2 Il peso del pacco è aumentato considerevolmente. The weight of the parcel has increased considerably.
decisamente decidedly Adverb C2 La serata è stata decisamente riuscita. The evening was decidedly a success.
dolorosamente painfully Adverb C2 La mancanza si è fatta sentire dolorosamente. The absence made itself felt painfully.
profondamente deeply Adverb C2 Siamo rimasti profondamente colpiti dal racconto. We were deeply struck by the account.
approfonditamente thoroughly Adverb C2 La questione è stata discussa approfonditamente. The question was discussed thoroughly.
interamente entirely Adverb C2 La spesa è stata coperta interamente. The outlay was covered entirely.
completamente completely Adverb C2 La strada era completamente vuota. The street was completely empty.
integralmente in full Adverb C2 Il debito è stato saldato integralmente. The debt was settled in full.
grossolanamente roughly Adverb C2 La distanza era stata calcolata grossolanamente. The distance had been worked out roughly.
selvaggiamente wildly Adverb C2 I prezzi oscillano selvaggiamente da un mese all’altro. Prices swing wildly from one month to the next.
ampiamente amply Adverb C2 Il risultato supera ampiamente le attese. The result amply exceeds what was expected.
incommensurabilmente immeasurably Adverb C2 Le due esperienze sono incommensurabilmente lontane. The two experiences are immeasurably far apart.
casomai if anything Adverb C2 Casomai ne parliamo domani. If anything, we shall talk about it tomorrow.
Phrase (10)
a malapena barely Phrase C2 Si sentiva a malapena la voce dal fondo. The voice from the back could barely be heard.
assai di più a good deal more Phrase C2 Questa strada costa assai di più di quella vecchia. This road costs a good deal more than the old one.
fino a un certo punto up to a point Phrase C2 La spiegazione regge fino a un certo punto. The explanation holds up to a point.
in buona parte in large part Phrase C2 Il lavoro è in buona parte finito. The work is in large part finished.
per la maggior parte for the most part Phrase C2 Gli iscritti vengono per la maggior parte dalla stessa zona. Those enrolled come for the most part from the same area.
nel migliore dei casi at best Phrase C2 Nel migliore dei casi finiamo entro giovedì. At best we shall finish by Thursday.
nel peggiore dei casi at worst Phrase C2 Nel peggiore dei casi bisogna ricominciare da capo. At worst one has to start again from the beginning.
a stento with difficulty Phrase C2 Il camion passa a stento sotto il ponte. The lorry gets under the bridge with difficulty.
con distacco by a clear margin Phrase C2 Ha vinto con distacco la gara di fondo. He won the long-distance race by a clear margin.
di gran lunga by far Phrase C2 Questa soluzione è di gran lunga la più semplice. This solution is by far the simplest.
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