Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Merely \Mere"ly\, adv.
   1. Purely; unmixedly; absolutely.

            Ulysses was to force forth his access, Though merely
            naked.                                --Chapman.

   2. Not otherwise than; simply; barely; only.

            Prize not your life for other ends Than merely to
            obige your friends.                   --Swift.

   Syn: Solely; simply; purely; barely; scarcely.

Source : WordNet®

merely
     adv : and nothing more; "I was merely asking"; "it is simply a
           matter of time"; "just a scratch"; "he was only a
           child"; "hopes that last but a moment" [syn: {simply},
           {just}, {only}, {but}]