MERE DEFINITIONS - 15 definitions found
mere adj 1: being nothing more than specified; "a mere child" 2: apart from anything else; without additions or modifications; "only the bare facts"; "shocked by the mere idea"; "the simple passage of time was enough"; "the simple truth" [syn: bare(a), mere(a), simple(a)] n 1: a small pond of standing water mere reme emer meer erme reem Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) mere I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English — more at marine Date: before 12th century chiefly British an expanse of standing water ; lake, pool II. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English mǣre; akin to Old Norse landamæri borderland Date: before 12th century boundary; also landmark III. adjective (superlative merest) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin merus; akin to Old English āmerian to purify and perhaps to Greek marmairein to sparkle — more at morn Date: 15th century 1. having no admixture ; pure 2. obsolete being nothing less than ; absolute 3. being nothing more than <a mere mortal> <a mere hint of spice> • merely adverb Oxford English Reference Dictionary
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary mere (merest) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Note: 'Mere' does not have a comparative form. The superlative form 'merest' is used to emphasize how small something is, rather than in comparisons. 1. You use mere to emphasize how unimportant or inadequate something is, in comparison to the general situation you are describing. ...successful exhibitions which go beyond mere success... There is more to good health than the mere absence of disease... She'd never received the merest hint of any communication from him. ADJ: ADJ n [emphasis] 2. You use mere to indicate that a quality or action that is usually unimportant has a very important or strong effect. The mere mention of food had triggered off hunger pangs... The team manager has been quick to clamp down on the merest hint of complacency. ADJ: ADJ n 3. You use mere to emphasize how small a particular amount or number is. Sixty per cent of teachers are women, but a mere 5 percent of women are heads and deputies... ADJ: a ADJ amount [emphasis] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) -mere \-mere\ [Gr. ? part.] A combining form meaning part, portion; as, blastomere, epimere. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Mere \Mere\, n. [Written also mar.] [OE. mere, AS. mere mere, sea; akin to D. meer lake, OS. meri sea, OHG. meri, mari, G. meer, Icel. marr, Goth. marei, Russ. more, W. mor, Ir. & Gael. muir, L. mare, and perh. to L. mori to die, and meaning originally, that which is dead, a waste. Cf. Mortal, Marine, Marsh, Mermaid, Moor.] A pool or lake. --Drayton. Tennyson. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Mere \Mere\, n. [Written also meer and mear.] [AS. gem[=ae]re. [root]269.] A boundary. --Bacon. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Mere \Mere\, v. t. To divide, limit, or bound. [Obs.] Which meared her rule with Africa. --Spenser. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Mere \Mere\, n. A mare. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Mere \Mere\, a. [Superl. Merest. The comparative is rarely or never used.] [L. merus.] 1. Unmixed; pure; entire; absolute; unqualified. Then entered they the mere, main sea. --Chapman. The sorrows of this world would be mere and unmixed. --Jer. Taylor. 2. Only this, and nothing else; such, and no more; simple; bare; as, a mere boy; a mere form. From mere success nothing can be concluded in favor of any nation. --Atterbury. Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms mere I. a. 1. Bare, simple, nothing else but. 2. Absolute, entire, unmixed, pure, sheer, bare. II. n. Pool, lake, pond. English Explanatory Dictionary (Synonyms) mere ̈ɪmɪə adj. bare, basic, scant, stark, sheer; absolute, unmixed, only, just, nothing but, pure (and simple), unmitigated, undiluted: She was a mere slip of a girl. We need something more to go on than mere hearsay evidence. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 39 Moby Thesaurus words for "mere": absolute, austere, bare, basic, chaste, elementary, essential, fundamental, homely, homespun, homogeneous, indivisible, irreducible, just, monolithic, of a piece, only, plain, primal, primary, pure, pure and simple, scant, severe, sheer, simon-pure, simple, single, spare, stark, unadorned, uncluttered, undifferenced, undifferentiated, undiluted, unenhanced, uniform, unmitigated, unmixed |
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