Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Mere \Mere\, a. [Superl. {Merest}. The comparative is rarely or
   never used.] [L. merus.]
   1. Unmixed; pure; entire; absolute; unqualified.

            Then entered they the mere, main sea. --Chapman.

            The sorrows of this world would be mere and unmixed.
                                                  --Jer. Taylor.

   2. Only this, and nothing else; such, and no more; simple;
      bare; as, a mere boy; a mere form.

            From mere success nothing can be concluded in favor
            of any nation.                        --Atterbury.