merely

adverb

mere·​ly ˈmir-lē 

: nothing more than : only

was merely trying to help

… no boy wanted to be on record as considering a girl a major fox only to discover that she considered him merely cool.

—Richard Russo

Not merely decorative, the crisscrossing slats and fins variously filter light and provide privacy.

—Rob Haskell

Many merely desire a pleasant afternoon perusing the exhibitions in their local gallery.

—Launt Thompson

Many of the deep-sea fishes, for example, have pathetically weak skeletons and terribly flabby bodies—in extreme cases they are the consistency of gelatin and seem to be composed merely of mouth and stomach.

—Tim Flannery

… because of technology what in the past would have taken days took merely hours.

—Lee Child

Synonyms of merely

• just
• only
• simply

Examples of merely in a Sentence

the outside noise was merely a raccoon knocking over the garbage can

Recent Examples on the Web

Diño said the company had learned over the years that a robust slate is merely the starting point. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

William Perkins, an influential proponent of witch fever in late sixteenth-century England, notes that any miraculous power a witch or her objects appears to have is merely borrowed from Satan. — Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026

However, sources stress that their recent lunches with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos were merely on a peer basis. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026

The company says the law merely prohibits video rental stores from disclosing customers' rental histories without consent. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1580, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing merely

• not just/only/merely
• not merely

Rhymes for merely

• austerely
• severely
• sincerely
• cavalierly
• clearly
• dearly
• nearly
• queerly
• yearly