merely

adverb

mere·​ly ˈmir-lē How to pronounce merely (audio)
: 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

Examples of merely in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But despite his claims, the bill, signed into law late last month by Ghana’s parliament imposes severe penalties merely for identifying as LGBTQ, with fines or up to three years in prison. David McKenzie, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 However, there is one caveat: merely copying what others are doing in the space will do a company no favors. Gideon Kimbrell, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024 White streams of light belonging to the corona were merely restricted to the equatorial regions of the star. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2024 Roberts said the decision to sit him was merely precautionary after Smith experienced some soreness from a weight-room exercise earlier this week. Noah Furtado, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 At Jeddah, Hülkenberg finished 10th and Magnussen finished 12th, with Hülkenberg scoring the first point for the team, the goal this year merely to score points in as many grands prix as possible. Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2024 Some do it merely for the kick that comes from manipulation. Ali Winston, WIRED, 13 Mar. 2024 However, to merely dismiss all of the critics out of hand as insane or intolerant or anti-Semitic would ironically run counter to the spirit of Chen’s essay itself. Phil Klay, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2024 At first, the models merely acquired new neighbors: the building became a hospital. Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'merely.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1580, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of merely was circa 1580

Dictionary Entries Near merely

Cite this Entry

“Merely.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/merely. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on merely

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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