merely

The word “merely” means only, and nothing more than; simply. In plain terms, used to say something is only that and nothing bigger or more serious.

“Merely” is pronounced MEER-lee (/ˈmɪɹli/ in IPA).

Here is “merely” used in a sentence: “I merely asked what time it was — no need to get defensive.”

Words with a similar meaning to “merely” include barely, but, just, literally, no more than and nothing but.

The opposite of “merely” — its antonyms — are absolutely, all-fired, completely, indeed and very.

“Merely” is an adverb.

The word “merely” comes from Middle English. From Middle English mereli, formed from mere plus the adverb suffix -ly.

“Merely” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

Both restrict a statement to nothing more than what is stated, but "merely" adds a dismissive or minimising tone and is slightly more formal, as in "it was merely a suggestion." "Only" is the neutral, everyday choice and works more naturally with quantities and times, as in "only five minutes."

"Merely" leans formal or literary; in casual speech most people say "just" or "only" instead. It is common in written English when the writer wants to downplay something, as in "this is merely a first draft."

"Merely" means only, and nothing more than, downplaying importance; "barely" means only just, by a narrow margin. "She merely nodded" says she did nothing more than nod, while "she barely nodded" says her nod was almost imperceptible.

"Merely" normally sits directly before the word or phrase it limits: before a main verb ("he merely smiled"), after the verb "be" ("it is merely a formality"), or before a noun phrase. Moving it changes which part of the sentence is being downplayed.