mere

[US]/mɪə(r)/
[UK]/mɪr/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

adj. only, just, pure
Word Forms
Pluralmeres
Superlativemerest

Phrases & Collocations

mere coincidence

mere suggestion

mere formality

mere speculation

mere trifle

a mere nobody

Example Sentences

It is a mere trifle.

He is a mere nobody.

The trial was a mere farce.

He is a mere machine.

The cost is a mere fleabite.

she is a mere chit of a girl.

that's all it is, mere mummery.

be he prince or mere mister

a mere trick of the light

It is a mere matter of time.

a sculptor but a mere dilettante;

a mere child; a mere 50 cents an hour.

They were mere apprentices to piracy.

The suppression of the revolt took a mere two days.

they treat Scotland as a mere appendage of England.

our union will become a mere rope of sand.

the figure in the distance had become a mere speck.

shocked by the mere idea.

the mere fringes of philosophy

Real-world Examples

Bytedance is aiming for more than mere social responsibility.

Source: Business Weekly

This was just a mere 10 years ago.

Source: VOA Standard English_Africa

" You think this a mere symbolic keepsake, then? "

Source: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

But we are not called merely to be professional people.

Source: TED Talks (Video Version) Bilingual Selection

The journey took a mere 43 seconds.

Source: New Horizons College English Reading and Writing Course (Second Edition)

The empire lasted a mere dozen years.

Source: New Concept English: Vocabulary On-the-Go, Book Three.

Plus animals demonstrate the mere exposure effects too.

Source: Simple Psychology

You must want real life, not mere pleasure of sensual gratification.

Source: The Lost Wealth Classics

However, the mixed marriages are far more complicated than the mere love.

Source: Essential English Topics to Know for a Lifetime

Now, as it turns out, the mere exposure effect was way beyond selfies.

Source: Simple Psychology

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