Plastic or rubber stretched too much is (hardly/strongly) stretched?

Question

If you want to describe a stretched plastic cable, would you say that it was hardly stretched or strongly stretched?

Answer 1

Actually you say neither.

Hardly stretched means that it is barely stretched at all. (Although I see where your confusion arises) and strongly stretched is not something a native speaker would say.

They would say overstretched in the case it is stretched too much, and tightly stretched when the cable is quite taut but not overly so.

Answer 2

I have never heard either of these words used with stretched. In fact, the connotation of hardly in the phrase "hardly stretched" means "barely". See the fourth definition from merriam-webster.com:

1 : with force : VIGOROUSLY

2 : in a severe manner : HARSHLY

3 : with difficulty : PAINFULLY

4 : a - used to emphasize a minimal amount < I hardly knew her > < almost new - hardly a scratch on it >

b - used to soften a negative < you can't hardly tell who anyone is - G. B. Shaw >

5 : certainly not < that news is hardly surprising >

While definitions 1 and 2 do mean what you are intending, the phrase is more typically used to mean "barely".

I would use "tightly stretched" to mean something that is stretched as far as it can go.