: 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
Richard RussoNot merely decorative, the crisscrossing slats and fins variously filter light and provide privacy.—Rob Haskell
Rob HaskellMany merely desire a pleasant afternoon perusing the exhibitions in their local gallery.—Launt Thompson
Launt ThompsonMany 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
Tim Flannery… because of technology what in the past would have taken days took merely hours.—Lee Child
Lee ChildExamples of merely in a Sentence
the outside noise was merely a raccoon knocking over the garbage can
Recent Examples on the Web
The good ones merely mean to entertain.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 20 Mar. 2026
Where the first one was merely a lightweight Boxster S with a touch more power, the 981 Spyder brought the engine from the Cayman GT4—which in turn was sourced from the 911 Carrera S—for a max power output of 375 hp, as well as bigger brakes and sharper steering.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 19 Mar. 2026
By Afroman’s account, the officers left his house torn apart, cut his security video cords, took cash from his home — officials later announced that deputies had merely miscounted the money — and traumatized his kids.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 19 Mar. 2026
The sequel strips Grace of what made her special and merely pays lip service to the first one’s worldview, representing the antagonists as generically incompetent hedonists.
—Michael Ordoña, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Mar. 2026
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Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 20 Mar. 2026
Where the first one was merely a lightweight Boxster S with a touch more power, the 981 Spyder brought the engine from the Cayman GT4—which in turn was sourced from the 911 Carrera S—for a max power output of 375 hp, as well as bigger brakes and sharper steering.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 19 Mar. 2026
By Afroman’s account, the officers left his house torn apart, cut his security video cords, took cash from his home — officials later announced that deputies had merely miscounted the money — and traumatized his kids.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 19 Mar. 2026
The sequel strips Grace of what made her special and merely pays lip service to the first one’s worldview, representing the antagonists as generically incompetent hedonists.
—Michael Ordoña, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for merely
Cite this Entry
“Merely.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/merely. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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