mere‧ly S3 W2 / mɪəli $ mɪrli / adverb
1 used to emphasize how small or unimportant something or someone is SYN only :
He’s merely a boy – you can’t expect him to understand.
2 used to emphasize that nothing more than what you say is involved SYN just :
We’re merely good friends.
He merely shrugged and walked away.
3 not merely/rather than merely used before the less important of two ideas in a sentence to emphasize the more important idea :
It’s not merely a matter of cost, but whether she’s old enough to go on holiday alone.
It’s important to write these goals down, rather than merely think about them.
Merely-Just-Only-Barely
