Adjacent Words

Mere definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MERE, a. [L. merus.] This or that only; distinct from any thing else.
From mere success nothing can be concluded in favor of a nation.
What if the head,the eye or ear repin'd
To serve mere engines to the ruling mind?
1. Absolute; entire.
MERE, n. [L. mare. See Moor.] A pool or lake.
MERE, n. [Gr. to divide.] A boundary; used chiefly in the compound, mere-stone.
MERE, v.t. To divide, limit or bound.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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, mere, simple] n
1: a small pond of standing water

Merriam Webster's

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 m?re; 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 ?merian 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 Reference Dictionary

1. attrib.adj. (merest) that is solely or no more or better than what is specified (a mere boy; no mere theory). Phrases and idioms: mere right Law a right in theory. Derivatives: merely adv. Etymology: ME f. AF meer, OF mier f. L merus unmixed 2. n. archaic or poet. a lake or pond. Etymology: OE f. Gmc 3. n. a Maori war-club, esp. one made of greenstone. Etymology: Maori

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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 1913 Dictionary

Mere Mere, n. [Written also meer and mear.] [AS. gem[=ae]re. [root]269.] A boundary. --Bacon.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mere Mere, v. t. To divide, limit, or bound. [Obs.] Which meared her rule with Africa. --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mere Mere, n. A mare. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(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]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Bare, simple, nothing else but. 2. Absolute, entire, unmixed, pure, sheer, bare. II. n. Pool, lake, pond.

Moby Thesaurus

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