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

Imagine a sudden-death Final where the prize is merely keeping your spot in the league. —David Ferrini, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025

Up until this point, even the most practical-minded among our undergraduates could still balance their vocational majors with breadth-giving minors, or see the benefits of merely a passing exposure to other fields and forms of inquiry. —Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 30 Mar. 2025

Per a recent league injury report, Jokic was considered merely probable to play through a lingering left ankle impingement. —Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2025

Fifth-floor dictates to the council from a mayor as unpopular as Johnson merely poison the well the next time the administration needs council approval. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 28 Mar. 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