Clinton said, "I am determined that this report will not merely gather dust, like so many others."
You could merely gather from his discourse that he was English, and that he was well acquainted with the neighbouring countries.
Perhaps the crowds gather around eagerly merely for the excitement of the show.
To merely gather the six-score board members in one place costs $250,000, even before they consider fresh perquisites for themselves.
I yanked, trying to pull my arms free, but he merely gathered me in, laughing, and kissed me.
Despite the implication in their name that their function is to merely gather intelligence, they are also intended to have a deterrent effect.
Rather, it didn't think or feel at all; it merely gathered, tabulated, compared, and correlated data.
The good father was, in fact, on his knees--but he was merely gathering flowers.
He didn't say anything about a celebration; he merely gathered the wood, set fire to it, and watched it burn.
Before that the highlanders merely gathered at the place of battle and charged the enemy.