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

On many systems, deleting them merely removes their addresses from a registry, freeing the space to be overwritten. —Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026

The Department of Justice later clarified that the man had been let go right away and that Yu merely failed to promptly tell the court. —Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2026

Most critical of all, students need teachers who are well-trained, not merely well-intentioned. —Sherri Helvie, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026

Russia and China increasingly treat oil and gas flows as instruments of influence, not merely commerce. —Gaurav Srivastava, The Washington Examiner, 19 Apr. 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