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 commercial question is whether Versant can use its linear distribution and strong balance sheet to give channels like MS NOW an edge over Morgan and other fully independent competitors — or whether those apparent advantages amount merely to baggage. —Max Tani, semafor.com, 17 Nov. 2025

This time around, Hitler did not want merely to tolerate a coalition. —Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025

But that merely makes a trade harder—not impossible. —Ricardo Sandoval, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Nov. 2025

Don't listen merely to formulate a sharper comeback or putdown. —Paul Prather, Arkansas Online, 15 Nov. 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