only; nothing more than
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
mere•ly /ˈmɪrli/USA pronunciation adv.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- only (and nothing more);
just;
simply:Instead of making a fuss, he merely raised an eyebrow.
mere•ly
(mēr′lē),USA pronunciation adv.
- only as specified and nothing more;
simply:merely a matter of form. - [Obs.]
- without admixture;
purely. - altogether;
entirely.
- without admixture;
- late Middle English mereli. See mere1, -ly 1400–50
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'merely' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
-ard
- Feuerbach
- Gestalt
- Hopkinsianism
- accommodation collar
- addition
- ado
- animal
- barely
- because
- blip
- bond
- boondoggle
- bunkum
- but
- carnal
- cold
- collateral
- colloquial
- commercial
- communalism
- complement
- consensual
- conventionalism
- copula
- crease
- declamatory
- declaratory judgment
- dilettante
- doctrinaire
- earth
- elbow
- encounter
- epiphenomenalism
- except
- exist
- expletive
- explicit
- favor
- feint
- fine
- fix
- flannelboard
- flexible
- flourish
- formal
- formality
- grudge
- hard time
- head