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

The industrial gas giant merely backed the high end of its full-year earnings outlook, and its home-health business was problematic. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026

The Feds would have been satisfied had the Trumps merely signed a consent decree, agreeing to integrate their approximately fifteen thousand units; there would have been no fine and no admission of guilt. — Kai Bird, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

To that point, the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires that agency actions observe procedural requirements, generally applies to final agency actions—not tentative or merely conceptual ones. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Aug. 2026

The most important rule of any total solar eclipse is to be inside the narrow path of totality rather than merely close to it. — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 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