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

But advocates argued that merely checking a box to satisfy an audit does not necessarily mean improvements in animal welfare, as evidenced by several troubling incidents that occurred last year, which is why advocates want greater transparency into how the city is fulfilling its obligations. —Devan Patel, Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2026

This whack-a-mole approach to addressing scams would have introduced unnecessary regulations on financial institutions — which are merely the final target in the elaborate multistep scheme of the scam life cycle — while failing to address root causes. —Caroline Melear, Oc Register, 13 Jan. 2026

However, a large faction believes the organization merely needs to provide the veteran with a quality partner and wait for good things to happen. —Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026

While many dents are merely cosmetic, the location and size of the dent matters. —Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 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