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

Is Scorsese’s work actually good, rather than merely famous? —Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2025

CEOs are often board chairs as well, and the move merely gave her the same positions held by JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon. —Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 31 Oct. 2025

What would be the point in merely listening to people look at legendary mountain views and Incan ruins? —Ryan Knighton, AFAR Media, 31 Oct. 2025

YouTube’s lawyers also suggested that Disney was merely seeking to use its claim over Connolly’s services as a chip in the license renewal talks — seeking to expedite those talks by offering to release Connolly’s obligations once the talks were concluded. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 30 Oct. 2025

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