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

Whether those disputes are merely differences in public messaging, or reflect something deeper that could cause the agreement to collapse, remains unclear. —Kevin Liptak, CNN Money, 14 June 2026

But in a city that has to compete nationally with New York, Washington and Los Angeles for young talent, that advance from being merely a regional capital meant something here. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2026

Or is this merely the crest of a wave that’s been building for a long while now? —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 June 2026

Downtown was not merely a destination. —Sarah M. Boye, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 June 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