mere

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /mɪɚ/ UK /mɪə̯/ See IPA manual

Freq #4789

Meanings

1

adj
Used to stress that something is small or unimportant; nothing more than.

The mere thought of the exam made her nervous.
2

adj
Being nothing more than what is stated.

He was a mere child when his family moved abroad.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · used to stress that... bare only simple

More alone just very

Opposites

total

Word family

Forms merermeresmerest

Derived forms merely

Related forms mereingmerely

Appears in

Phrases (5)

See all

mere conjecture
An explanation or belief based only on speculation rather than sufficient evidence.

Adjective + noun
mere formality
A required step that has little practical importance or whose outcome is already expected.

Adjective + noun
mere pittance
An extremely small and inadequate amount of money.

Adjective + noun
mere rhetoric
Persuasive or impressive words unsupported by meaningful action or substance.

Adjective + noun
mere wisp
a very small or slender person

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English mere, mer, from Anglo-Norman meer, from Old French mier, from Latin merus (“pure, unmixed, undiluted”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to sparkle, gleam”). Cognate with Old English āmerian, āmyrian (“to purify, examine, revise”). The Middle English word was perhaps influenced by or conflated with sound-alike Middle English mere (“glorious, noble, splendid, fine, pure”), from Old English mǣre (“famous, great, excellent, sublime, splendid, pure, sterling”), from Proto-West Germanic *mārī, from Proto-Germanic *mērijaz.

mere Middle English meer xno mier Old French merus Latin *mer- Proto-Indo-European mǣre Old English *mārī Proto-West Germanic *mērijaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# mere

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /mɪɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /mɪə̯/
**Frequency rank:** 4789

## Meanings
1. Used to stress that something is small or unimportant; nothing more than.
2. Being nothing more than what is stated.

## Examples
- The mere thought of the exam made her nervous.
- He was a mere child when his family moved abroad.

## Synonyms
- alone
- bare
- just
- only
- simple
- very

## Antonyms
- total

## Derived Forms
- merely

## Related Forms
- mereing
- merely

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mere
- Root: meer
- Root: mier
- Root: merus
- Root: *mer-
- Root: mǣre
- Root: *mārī
- Root: *mērijaz

## Etymology
From Middle English mere, mer, from Anglo-Norman meer, from Old French mier, from Latin merus (“pure, unmixed, undiluted”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to sparkle, gleam”). Cognate with Old English āmerian, āmyrian (“to purify, examine, revise”). The Middle English word was perhaps influenced by or conflated with sound-alike Middle English mere (“glorious, noble, splendid, fine, pure”), from Old English mǣre (“famous, great, excellent, sublime, splendid, pure, sterling”), from Proto-West Germanic *mārī, from Proto-Germanic *mērijaz.

## AI Etymology
Mere comes from Middle English mere, mer, from Anglo-Norman meer, from Old French mier, from Latin merus (“pure, unmixed, undiluted”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to sparkle, gleam”). Cognate with Old English āmerian, āmyrian (“to purify, examine, revise”). The Middle English word was perhaps influenced by or conflated with sound-alike Middle English mere (“glorious, noble, splendid, fine, pure”), from Old English mǣre (“famous, great, excellent, sublime, splendid, pure, sterling”), from Proto-West Germanic *mārī, from Proto-Germanic *mērijaz. In present-day English its meanings include used to stress that something is small or unimportant; nothing more than and being nothing more than what is stated. The historical chain runs through mere (Middle English), meer (Anglo-Norman), mier (Old French), merus (Latin), and *mer- (Proto-Indo-European).

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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