Definition of merelynext
as in just
nothing more than the outside noise was merely a raccoon knocking over the garbage can

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of merely This makes intuitive sense, as relationships are not merely systems of information exchange. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026 Learn a trade anyway There is a version of nostalgia that is merely self-serving—the successful person who made it in an earlier era romanticizing the conditions that made their success possible. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 16 May 2026 The shift isn’t merely spatial but symbolic, representing what Yeon sees as the precariousness of human civilization itself. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 May 2026 Not merely in terms of the six Halls of Fame in which the longtime Arkansas City, Kansas, math teacher and tennis coach has been inducted. Kansas City Star, 16 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for merely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for merely
Adverb
  • Gas in Los Angeles averages just over $6 per gallon as of Tuesday, per AAA.
    Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026
  • Surveillance camera footage captured Mott scaling an 8-foot fence topped with barbed wire at the perimeter of the airport in just 15 seconds, then walking across the runway.
    Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Adverb
  • Yet Black representatives have only been elected from majority-Black districts.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 17 May 2026
  • These are the services that reduce harm and support reintegration, unlike arrests that only deepen instability.
    Shianne LeClaire, Hartford Courant, 17 May 2026
Adverb
  • In that sense, Shadbolt’s food doesn’t have to argue for British cooking so much as simply to practice it, excellently.
    Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
  • The National Alliance to End Homelessness reports that cities relying on arrests and sweeps do not see long-term decreases in unsheltered homelessness because people are simply displaced into new areas rather than housed.
    Shianne LeClaire, Hartford Courant, 17 May 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Merely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/merely. Accessed 18 May. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on merely

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster