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

• but
• just
• only
• purely
• simply

Examples of merely in a Sentence

the outside noise was merely a raccoon knocking over the garbage can

Recent Examples on the Web

Healthcare stakeholders must realize that regulations are merely a baseline and adopt security-first system architectures, embedding privacy and resilience into their core design. —Chris Bowen, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025

But to prevent the trade from becoming merely a partial-season rental of Ozuna, the Marlins would likely insist on dipping into the Braves' wellspring of pitching prospects. —Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025

However, experts widely agree that the increase in autism rates over time is not actually because more people are developing the disorder — instead, doctors are merely getting better at correctly identifying autism as diagnostic tools become more sophisticated, per NBC News. —Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 22 Apr. 2025

Which is why, day after day, the deeply faithful and the merely curious alike assemble before St. Peter's to stare at that slim chimney. —Marco Della Cava, USA Today, 22 Apr. 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