mere

/mɪə̯/

//mɪə̯// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mere" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mere” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #5,812) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#5,812
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Just, only; no more than, pure and simple, neither more nor better than might be expected.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mere · mere · English

mere · rank #5,812 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,812
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mechanics

Nearest frequency peer: mechanics (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “mere”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “mere” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mere vs Mr
25% similar
mere vs met
50% similar
mere vs Mrs
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mere
PropertyValue
Headwordmere
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/mɪə̯/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,812
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “mere”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).merelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “mechanics” (#5,811), “miracle” (#5,813), “manufactured” (#5,810). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mere” is #5,812. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for mere is neighbouring look-alikes ("Mr", "met", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced /mɪə̯/. Frequency #5,812 among 4,057 “M” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for mere, with forms such as "emre", "merre", and "mmere". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Mr", "met", "Mrs", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mere, mer, from Anglo-Norman meer, from Old French mier, from Latin merus (“pure, unmixed, undiluted”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to sparkle, gleam”). Cognate with Old English āmerian, āmyrian (“to purify, examine, revise”). The M… The correct English form is mere, spelled M-E-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Just, only; no more than, pure and simple, neither more nor better than might be expected.
  2. 2
    Pure, unalloyed .
  3. 3
    Nothing less than; complete, downright .

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how mere appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The mere thought of pineapple on pizza makes me want to throw up.
  2. And ſo vve may have an ever-grovving Idea of infinite Number as vvell as infinite Space or Emptineſs, yet it is a meer Idea, and hath no real Exiſtence vvithout us.

Etymology

From Middle English mere, mer, from Anglo-Norman meer, from Old French mier, from Latin merus (“pure, unmixed, undiluted”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to sparkle, gleam”). Cognate with Old English āmerian, āmyrian (“to purify, examine, revise”). The Middle English word was perhaps influenced by or conflated with sound-alike Middle English mere (“glorious, noble, splendid, fine, pure”), from Old English mǣre (“famous, great, excellent, sublime, splendid, pure, sterling”), from Proto-West Germanic *mārī, from Proto-Germanic *mērijaz.

This word in other languages

mero(Español)simple(Français)bloß(Deutsch)mero(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emre
  • merre
  • mmere
  • mree

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mere - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

emre2merre1mmere1mree2
Edit distance from "mere"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mere"?
"mere" is spelled M-E-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /mɪə̯/.
What does "mere" mean?
As an adjective, "mere" means: Just, only; no more than, pure and simple, neither more nor better than might be expected.
What words are commonly confused with "mere"?
"mere" is commonly confused with "Mr", "met", "Mrs". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mere"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mere" is /mɪə̯/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mere"?
From Middle English mere, mer, from Anglo-Norman meer, from Old French mier, from Latin merus (“pure, unmixed, undiluted”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to sparkle, gleam”). Cognate with Old English āmerian, āmyrian (“to purify, examine, revis... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mere", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

keen#5,804disc#5,782Cuba#5,779visa#5,849

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list