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# mere

«mere» in Mova's school dictionary: **only, just, no more than: a mere child, a mere five minutes** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (mere, merest; merely adv.); noun (a mere, meres — old or poetic)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Mere means only, just, no more than: a mere child, a mere five minutes. It makes something sound small or unimportant. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/#m1)

2) The merest means the smallest possible: the merest touch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/#m2)

3) (old, poetic, place names) A mere is a lake or pond, as in some English place names. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In stories and formal writing: «a mere boy beat the giant», «the mere thought of spiders makes me shiver». In maths problems: «it costs a mere £2» stresses that the amount is small.

### examples

- It was a mere five minutes' walk to school. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/#x1)
- She was a mere child when she learnt to swim. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/#x2)
- The mere sight of the dentist's chair scared him. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/#x3)
- It cost a mere fifty pence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/#x4)
- At the merest noise, the rabbit ran away. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/#x5)
- The walk took us around the mere. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/#x6)
- I shiver at the mere thought of it.” [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/#x7)

### note

Only used before a noun: «a mere child» (not «the child is mere»). Adverb: merely (only). In maths, «a mere 3» still equals 3; the word adds feeling, not a different number.

### In the corpora

- [Sayest thou that a mere word of the lips is counsel and strength for the war?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/2KI.571/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «mere» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mere/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.