It merely makes you turn your attention to other things.
It merely makes the various parties seem to be the same size.
He merely made a note with Steve's phone number and decided to wait to call him.
But merely to look at everything here made her feel sad.
They merely made sure you were not wounded and then sent for me.
The Warriors were merely making the best of a bad situation.
"I was merely making a comment about men and their sports."
"Or are you merely making sure I cannot slip away?"
And then there are some musicians who merely make a living.
Of course there'll be more to this than merely making the drawings.