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

While Venu’s backers have promoted the service as being something new, the lower court asserted that the concept was actually not new, and was also merely an aggregation of 15 linear network feeds. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2024

The August rally was merely a blip in an otherwise dramatic depreciation of the currency since 2012. —Steven Desmyter, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Instead of merely serving as a role-player on the right, Kirk now leverages his influence to bend conservatism closer to his own vision. —Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024

Nashville is merely six years removed from voters emphatically rejecting a transit ballot measure, setting the stage for what seems to be a make-or-break referendum Tuesday. —Nate Rau, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1580, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing merely

• not just/only/merely
• not merely