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 New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is divided over whether the AI industry is a destructive capitalist force that could kill everyone, or merely an overhyped capitalist hustle. — J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2026

The cynic would say their aims are financial, and the outcomes in education are merely incidental to that end. — Kamau Bobb october 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026

The rafters themselves are nothing special, merely a useful space to house lighting and air conditioning. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026

Johan Enslin, an ARPA-E program director, envisions a grid in which power can be converted, directed and managed automatically—much like the way data are routed around the Internet—rather than merely stepped up or down. — Alex Pasternack, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 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