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

• 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

Both were merely a product of Golden’s desire to keep the scheme simple, eliminate any confusion and let his players play fast. —Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025

Also, my commentary is merely a layman’s viewpoint. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025

American yams, on the other hand, are merely mislabeled sweet potatoes thanks to a marketing gimmick from the 1930s. —Joe Sevier, Bon Appetit Magazine, 6 Sep. 2025

Gentle sweeps and curves are better than straight rows that merely repeat the legal lines of your property boundaries. —Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 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