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Purely; unmixedly; absolutely. Ulysses was to force forth his access, Though merely naked. Chapman.

A kind of divorce which does not dissolve the marriage bond, but merely authorizes a separate life of the husband and wife. Abbott.

Having power to advise; containing advice; as, an advisory council; their opinion is merely advisory. The General Association has a general advisory superintendence over all the ministers and churches. Trumbull.

Only; merely; singly. [Obs.] This said spirit was not given alonely unto him, but unto all his heirs and posterity. Latimer.

Pertaining to the merely sentient part of a creature, as distinguished from the intellectual, rational, or spiritual part; as, the animal passions or appetites.

virtue; this actor will appear as Hamlet. The beggar is greater as a man, than is the man merely as a king. Dewey.

Ashlar when in thin slabs and made to serve merely as a case to the body of the wall. Brande & C.

helper; an auxiliary; a means of help. Four assistants who his labor share. Pope. Rhymes merely as assistants to memory. Mrs. Chapone.

See Indicator card.) -- Atmospheric pressure, the pressure exerted by the atmosphere, not merely downwards, but in every direction. In amounts to about 14.7 Ibs. on each square inch. -- Atmospheric railway, one in which pneumatic power, obtained from compressed air or the creation of a vacuum, is the propelling force.…

Merely; only. R. For now his son is duke. W. Barely in title, not in revenue. Shak.

Only; solely; merely. Observe but how their own principles combat one another. Milton. If they kill us, we shall but die. 2 Kings vii. 4. A formidable man but to his friends. Dryden.

hite amorphous mass. See Starch, Granulose, Lignin. Unsized, well bleached linen paper is merely pure cellulose. Goodale. Starch cellulose, the delicate framework which remains when the soluble part (granulose) of starch is removed by saliva or pepsin. Goodale.

lly existing, anything that is truly an agent or the cause of any event; but they signify merely men's ignorance of the real and immediate cause. Samuel Clark. Any society into which chance might throw him. Macaulay. That power Which erring men call Chance. Milton.

arrangement, of the constituent atoms. These atoms are not assumed to be indivisible, but merely the finest grade of subdivision hitherto attained. Chemistry deals with the changes in the composition and constitution of molecules. See Atom, Molecule.

Any merely ornamental adjunct of a woman's dress, as a bunch of ribbon, lace, etc.

Merely imaginary; fanciful; fantastic; wildly or vainly conceived; having, or capable of having, no existence except in thought; as, chimerical projects.

must therefore distinguish between the essentials in religious worship . . . and what is merely circumstantial. Sharp.

conscious volition; as, consensual motions. Consensual contract (Law), a contract formed merely by consent, as a marriage contract.

main land; specifically (Phys. Geog.), a large body of land differing from an island, not merely in its size, but in its structure, which is that of a large basin bordered by mountain chains; as, the continent of North America.

lkaloid obtained from croton oil by boiling it with water and magnesia, since found to be merely a magnesia soap of the oil. Watts.