Definition of "hardly a" []

• Very few (adjective)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "Davison (Hast., loc. cit.) says, "it may well be that the Psalter contains hardly a single instance of direct Messianic prophecy"."
• "“Think” pitches itself as good brainfood, hardly a new idea, but its packaging breaks new ground in linking with the experiences of consumers."
• "Back then, the little-explored and poorly understood domain of immunology—the study of how the immune system functions in the body—was hardly a bustling field, and few labs existed where a young PhD could go to complete his medical studies in the field, much less support a new wife and coming child."