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

Demonstrating Leadership And Initiative Ambition without action is merely a dream. —Rosalba Carandente, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

The box-of-chocolates approach has come under much more pressure since then, as misleading or offensive results have come to be seen more and more as dangerous rather than merely quirky or momentarily regrettable. —Jonathan L. Zittrain, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024

Yet, his courtship of Sunni elites merely created the illusion that Assad’s regime was inclusive. —Sefa Secen / Made By History, TIME, 17 Dec. 2024

Once merely speculative, the concept of enclosing race tracks under domes is gaining attention thanks to advocacy from teams like Joe Gibbs Racing. —Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1580, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing merely

• not just/only/merely
• not merely