Adjacent Words

Merely definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ME'RELY, adv. Purely; only; solely; thus and no other way; for this and no other purpose.
Price not your life for other ends
Than merely to oblige your friends.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adv
1: and nothing more; "I was merely asking"; "it is simply a matter of time"; "just a scratch"; "he was only a child"; "hopes that last but a moment" [syn: merely, simply, just, only, but]

Merriam Webster's

adverb see mere III

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Merely Mere"ly, adv. 1. Purely; unmixedly; absolutely. Ulysses was to force forth his access, Though merely naked. --Chapman. 2. Not otherwise than; simply; barely; only. Prize not your life for other ends Than merely to obige your friends. --Swift. Syn: Solely; simply; purely; barely; scarcely.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. You use merely to emphasize that something is only what you say and not better, more important, or more exciting. Michael is now merely a good friend... They are offering merely technical assistance. = just, simply ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV before v [emphasis] 2. You use merely to emphasize that a particular amount or quantity is very small. The brain accounts for merely three per cent of body weight. = only ADV: ADV amount [emphasis] 3. You use not merely before the less important of two contrasting statements, as a way of emphasizing the more important statement. The team needs players who want to play cricket for England, not merely any country that will have them... PHRASE: PHR with cl/group, PHR before v [emphasis]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

ad. 1. Simply, purely, only, solely, barely. 2. Purely, absolutely, utterly, entirely.

Moby Thesaurus

after a fashion, alone, appreciably, at any rate, at best, at bottom, at least, at most, at the least, at the most, at the outside, at worst, barely, basically, but, comparatively, detectably, entirely, essentially, exclusively, fairly, fundamentally, in a manner, in a way, in part, in some measure, incompletely, integrally, irreducibly, just, leastwise, mildly, moderately, modestly, not comprehensively, not exhaustively, only, part, partially, partly, plainly, pro tanto, purely, relatively, scarcely, simply, simply and solely, singly, so far, solely, somewhat, thus far, to a degree, to some degree, tolerably, totally, unanalyzably, undividedly, visibly, wholly