Mere
adjective
Only, simply, nothing more than.
He's a mere child.
Often appears as...
- mere mortal
- mere child
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
A small lake or pond.
They went for a walk by the mere.
Often appears as...
- by the mere
- at the mere
adjective
Only, simply, nothing more than.
He's a mere child.
Often appears as...
- mere mortal
- mere child
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
A small lake or pond.
They went for a walk by the mere.
Often appears as...
- by the mere
- at the mere
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Understated Impact
Use 'mere' to make something seem less important or smaller than it is, often to highlight contrast.
Despite our efforts, we made mere pennies.
Pro Tip 2/3Irony or Sarcasm
'Mere' can be used ironically to imply something is important when labeled as 'mere'.
Oh, it's a mere trifle that you won the championship!
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Minimization
'Mere' might minimize feelings or the seriousness of a situation in emotional contexts.
He said it was a mere scratch, but it looked serious.
Pro Tip 1/3Understated Impact
Use 'mere' to make something seem less important or smaller than it is, often to highlight contrast.
Despite our efforts, we made mere pennies.
Pro Tip 2/3Irony or Sarcasm
'Mere' can be used ironically to imply something is important when labeled as 'mere'.
Oh, it's a mere trifle that you won the championship!
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Minimization
'Mere' might minimize feelings or the seriousness of a situation in emotional contexts.
He said it was a mere scratch, but it looked serious.
Pro Tip 1/3Understated Impact
Use 'mere' to make something seem less important or smaller than it is, often to highlight contrast.
Despite our efforts, we made mere pennies.
Pro Tip 2/3Irony or Sarcasm
'Mere' can be used ironically to imply something is important when labeled as 'mere'.
Oh, it's a mere trifle that you won the championship!
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Minimization
'Mere' might minimize feelings or the seriousness of a situation in emotional contexts.
He said it was a mere scratch, but it looked serious.
Never forget "Mere"
Humans forget easily. That's why you should download WordUp: Smart reminders, word games, AI practice, and much more!
Video examples
Why is yawning...
allows us to empathize with others' feelings at a deeper level. Scientists discovered this empathetic response to yawning while testing the first hypothesis we mentioned, fixed action pattern. This study was set up to show that dogs would enact a yawn reflex at the mere sound of a human yawn.
Video examples
The building of...
was the benefactor and Brunelleschi made a mere three gold florins per month to head the project incredibly the cupola was built in 16 years everything that went into building the cupola had an effect on the civilized world the cupola
Video examples
The Atlantic slave...
Afraid of being eaten, or just to avoid further suffering, they committed suicide or starved themselves, believing that in death, their souls would return home. Those who survived were completley dehumanized, treated as mere cargo.
Video examples
Is math discovered or...
or is math the native language of the universe itself, existing whether we find its truths or not? Are numbers, polygons and equations truly real, or merely ethereal representations of some theoretical ideal?
Video examples
Eduardo Sáenz de...
Eternal truths. But it isn't always easy to know the difference between an eternal truth, or theorem, and a mere conjecture. You need proof. For example, let's say I have a big, enormous, infinite field.
Video examples
Einstein's brilliant...
or spooky action at a distance. He decided that quantum mechanics must be incomplete, a mere approximation of a deeper reality in which both particles have predetermined states that are hidden from us.
Video examples
How aspirin was...
By reducing platelet activity, aspirin may decrease the levels of a certain protein that helps cancer cells spread. These discoveries have transformed aspirin from a mere pain reliever
Video examples
Time Is But a Stubborn...
Oh, no sir. I've already solved it. PROFESSOR Leave, now. On what offense? PROFESSOR Your mere presence spoils the respect of the class for me! That is not an objective reason. Out!
Video examples
Praying Mantis...
deep inside is the queen her role is to replenish the colony by laying two million eggs a month she is merely an egg-laying machine
Video examples
Drinking monkeys &...
more than a mere luxury this helps to
Video examples
Why is yawning...
allows us to empathize with others' feelings at a deeper level. Scientists discovered this empathetic response to yawning while testing the first hypothesis we mentioned, fixed action pattern. This study was set up to show that dogs would enact a yawn reflex at the mere sound of a human yawn.
Video examples
The building of...
was the benefactor and Brunelleschi made a mere three gold florins per month to head the project incredibly the cupola was built in 16 years everything that went into building the cupola had an effect on the civilized world the cupola
Video examples
The Atlantic slave...
Afraid of being eaten, or just to avoid further suffering, they committed suicide or starved themselves, believing that in death, their souls would return home. Those who survived were completley dehumanized, treated as mere cargo.
Video examples
Is math discovered or...
or is math the native language of the universe itself, existing whether we find its truths or not? Are numbers, polygons and equations truly real, or merely ethereal representations of some theoretical ideal?
Video examples
Eduardo Sáenz de...
Eternal truths. But it isn't always easy to know the difference between an eternal truth, or theorem, and a mere conjecture. You need proof. For example, let's say I have a big, enormous, infinite field.
Video examples
Einstein's brilliant...
or spooky action at a distance. He decided that quantum mechanics must be incomplete, a mere approximation of a deeper reality in which both particles have predetermined states that are hidden from us.
Video examples
How aspirin was...
By reducing platelet activity, aspirin may decrease the levels of a certain protein that helps cancer cells spread. These discoveries have transformed aspirin from a mere pain reliever
Video examples
Time Is But a Stubborn...
Oh, no sir. I've already solved it. PROFESSOR Leave, now. On what offense? PROFESSOR Your mere presence spoils the respect of the class for me! That is not an objective reason. Out!
Video examples
Praying Mantis...
deep inside is the queen her role is to replenish the colony by laying two million eggs a month she is merely an egg-laying machine
Video examples
Drinking monkeys &...
more than a mere luxury this helps to
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Robert Baden-Powell
English Soldier
Happiness doesn't come from being rich, nor merely from being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man.
Quote examples
John Wooden
American Coach
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
Quote examples
Neil Gaiman
British Author
Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and adventures are the shadow truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes and forgotten.
Quote examples
Gilbert K. Chesterton
English Writer
Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it.
Quote examples
Rabindranath Tagore
Indian Poet
The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.
Quote examples
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
American Poet
A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books.
Quote examples
Chuck Palahniuk
American Novelist
To merely observe your culture without contributing to it seems very close to existing as a ghost.
Quote examples
Henry Ford
American Businessman
Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving.
Quote examples
Martin Luther King, Jr.
American Leader
Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
Quote examples
Charles Darwin
English Scientist
A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, - a mere heart of stone.
Quote examples
Robert Baden-Powell
English Soldier
Happiness doesn't come from being rich, nor merely from being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man.
Quote examples
John Wooden
American Coach
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
Quote examples
Neil Gaiman
British Author
Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and adventures are the shadow truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes and forgotten.
Quote examples
Gilbert K. Chesterton
English Writer
Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it.
Quote examples
Rabindranath Tagore
Indian Poet
The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.
Quote examples
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
American Poet
A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books.
Quote examples
Chuck Palahniuk
American Novelist
To merely observe your culture without contributing to it seems very close to existing as a ghost.
Quote examples
Henry Ford
American Businessman
Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving.
Quote examples
Martin Luther King, Jr.
American Leader
Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
Quote examples
Charles Darwin
English Scientist
A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, - a mere heart of stone.
Example 1 of 10
WordUp Chrome Extension
As you browse the web instantly look up words you don’t know.
Get Chrome Extension