SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Thesaurus

mere

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of mere

being this and no more the mere idea of your traveling alone to Europe is ridiculous Synonyms bare, very Related Words absolute, all-out, arrant, out-and-out, outright, pure, sheer, simple, stark, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unmitigated, unqualified, utter; alone, lone, only, singular, sole, solitary, solo, unique

mere

noun, chiefly British

Synonyms and Antonyms of mere

a small often deep body of water one of the most scenic meres in England's Lake District Synonyms billabong [Australian], pool [chiefly British], puddle, stank [British dialect], wellRelated Words basin, hole, sinkhole; swimming pool; lake, pond, water hole

Learn More about mere

Dictionary: Definition of mere Spanish Central: Translation of mere Nglish: Translation of mere for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of mere for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up mere? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

fester

play

to become worse as time passes

BROWSE THESAURUS

mercurial

mercy

mere

merely

merge

Test Your Vocabulary

The Emoji Quiz

What phase of the moon is this: 🌖 ?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

alt-597a00ef4b9d7

'Motif' vs 'Leitmotif'

A pattern emerges.

alt-5978b44edfb13

Our (Almost) Final Word on 'Penultimate'

The ultimate guide to using penultimate.

alt-5978cb55e8ba5

The Grammatical History of 'Awaken'/'Awoken'/'Awakened'

Or you can just go back to bed.

alt-59775cb5d7779

Words We're Watching: 'Aquafaba'

Don't dump out the bean water just yet...

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066

Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless

Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals

Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz

A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz

Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game