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mere
1[ meer ]
adjective
- being nothing more nor better than:
a mere pittance;
He is still a mere child.
- Obsolete.
- pure and unmixed, as wine, a people, or a language.
- fully as much as what is specified; completely fulfilled or developed; absolute.
mere
2[ meer ]
noun
- Chiefly British Dialect. a lake or pond.
- Obsolete. any body of sea water.
mere
3[ meer ]
noun
- a boundary or boundary marker.
mère
4[ mer; English mair ]
noun
-mere
5- a combining form meaning “part,” used in the formation of compound words:
blastomere.
mere
1/ mɪə /
noun
- archaic.a boundary or boundary marker
-mere
2combining form
- indicating a part or division
blastomere
mere
3/ ˈmɛrɪ /
noun
- a short flat striking weapon
mere
4/ mɪə /
noun
- archaic.a lake or marsh
- obsolete.the sea or an inlet of it
mere
5/ mɪə /
adjective
- being nothing more than something specified
she is a mere child
–mere
- A suffix meaning “part” or “segment,” as in blastomere, one of the cells that form a blastula.
Derived Forms
- -meric, combining_form:in_adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of mere1
Origin of mere2
Origin of mere3
Origin of mere4
Word History and Origins
Origin of mere1
Origin of mere2
Origin of mere3
Origin of mere4
Origin of mere5
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
These matters are not mere threats to abstract constitutional principles.
Her Miss America win transcended mere superficial beauty standards.
Scalise spoke about taxes and government slush funds for a mere 15 minutes, Knight said.
Business questions are raised—who starts a PE firm and bails on it in a matter of mere months?
Human vision is as close as we mere mortals will ever come to having a genuine superpower.
All elements of expression modify each other, so that no mere rule can cover all cases.
All my musical studies till now have been a mere going to school, a preparation for him.
And is this a mere fantastic talk, or is this a thing that could be done and that ought to be done?
He said no more in words, but his little blue eyes had an eloquence that left nothing to mere speech.
The real experience has a magnetism of its own and will win above mere technicality whenever it has the opportunity.
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Words That Use -mere
What does -mere mean?
The combining form -mere is used like a suffix meaning “part.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology and anatomy.
The form -mere comes from Greek méros, meaning “part” or “portion.” From this same source, we also get the combining forms -mer and -merous. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entries for both forms.
Examples of -mere
One example of a scientific term that features the combining form -mere is osteomere, “one of a series of similar bone segments, such as a vertebra.”
The combining form osteo- means “bone,” from Greek ostéon. Because -mere means “part,” osteomere literally translates to “bone part.”
What are some words that use the combining form -mere?
Though they’re spelled similarly, the combining form -mere is not related to the adjective mere. Find out more at our entry for mere.
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