The phrase "a mere act of" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to downplay the significance of an action or to emphasize that it is simple or trivial.
Example: "What he did was not a grand gesture, but rather a mere act of kindness."
Alternatives: "a simple act of" or "just an act of".
Kyoto, as he says, was a mere act of appeasement to polluters.
One is left to wonder: is Paul Watson's project a mere act of vanity?
Taking to the streets is not a mere act of protest.
But a mere act of congress cannot amend the constitution, even if it should ingraft thereon such a proviso.' 142 U. S. 565, 12 Sup.
If war is not a "mere act of policy" but "a true political instrument," political considerations may pervade all of war.
Super Hexagon delivers failure with ferocious frequency, yet it would be wrong to assume that playing a game like this is a mere act of masochism.
But neither Ms. Moody nor agency officials who had accepted the invitations committed a crime, since "the mere act of passing an envelope is insufficient to constitute a knowing and willful violation of the law," Mr. Morano's office said.
9. Make plans Whether you're booking an exotic trip, making a reservation at the new hotspot in town or just setting a date to catch up with an old friend, the mere act of making a plan can give you something to look forward to on even the most ho-hum day.
But for all the advances made under Crowe's stewardship, Sunday, above all, is a tribute to the mere act of survival, a celebration of the persistence of one club in the face of mortal danger.
The classification he himself gives involves acts that are nowadays not considered as part of a separate science: the mere act of uttering a word (the phatic act) or sentence is part of phonetics (or phonology) and only of marginal concern here.
So from the outset, when Iraqis poured into the polls on Sunday to elect a new Parliament, the mere act of voting was not seen as a step toward democracy.
