1 (used for emphasizing how small or unimportant sth is) nothing more than （用于强调小得可怜或微不足道）只不过，仅仅: 90% of the country's land is owned by a mere 2% of the population. 该国90%的土地掌握在仅仅2%的人口手里。

2 used to say that just the fact that sb/sth is present in a situation is enough to have an influence （用于表示某人或某事物仅仅存在就足以产生影响）: The mere thought of giving a speech in public makes me feel sick. 一想到公开发表演说，我就觉得厌恶。