Meaning & use
mere
Used to emphasize how small, unimportant, or simple something is compared to what might be expected.
See it in a sentence
A mere five minutes late, he still found the meeting room completely empty.
Winning felt hollow, since the victory was due to mere luck rather than skill.
A note on using this word
Mere always comes before the noun it modifies and is used to minimize its importance or scale.
Words with a similar meaning
simplebare
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mere”, then compare your use with the examples above.
Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.