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

Whereas hearing aids merely amplify sound, cochlear implants are just one part of a complex system. —Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 22 Dec. 2025

Instead of marking the end of a yearslong battle for transparency, the document release Friday was merely the beginning of an indefinite wait for a complete picture of Epstein’s crimes and the steps taken to investigate them. —Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 20 Dec. 2025

Or is this just a set of overdrawn conclusions about an asset merely undergoing a correction after a blistering run and setting up a contrarian buying opportunity given heavy ETF outflows? —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 20 Dec. 2025

For now, however, DraftKings Predictions merely host the bets on a CME Group exchange—and will not have the ability to list markets outside of what CME Group provides. —Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 19 Dec. 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