merely
Americanadverb
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only as specified and nothing more; simply.
merely a matter of form.
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Obsolete.
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without admixture; purely.
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altogether; entirely.
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adverb
Etymology
Origin of merely
First recorded in 1400–50, merely is from the late Middle English word mereli. See mere 1, -ly
Explanation
Merely means "only." If you say "I was merely trying to help," your efforts were probably not appreciated and you're likely to be stalking off with your nose in the air. Merely comes from the Latin merus, ("undiluted"). But "undiluted" is positive — as in, "that's the undiluted truth" — in a way that merely is not. When you use merely, it always has a negative, disapproving tinge to it: You might say, "She was merely a minor player in that drama," but if you said, "She was merely the star of the show," you would mean it ironically, since being the star is the most important role.
Vocabulary lists containing merely
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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"Tinker v. Des Moines": Excerpts from Justice Fortas's Opinion
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Merely losing the Pentagon contract would be less of a financial blow, given it’s valued at up to $200 million.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 16, 2026
Catch of the Week, Catch of the Year, Catch of the Century, or Merely the Catch of the Early Afternoon, Please Calm Down…I’ll leave the formal classification to the headline writers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 9, 2025
Merely setting up this inquiry, let alone conducting it and then implementing the conclusions it comes to and the recommendations it makes, is already proving to be a huge headache.
From BBC • Oct. 24, 2025
Merely asking it to be “creative” or show us something more “adventurous” isn’t going to do the trick.
From Salon • Sep. 26, 2025
Merely because I had read a book that had spoken of how they lived and thought, I identified myself with that book.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
