The phrase "a mere show of" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that is superficial or lacking in substance, often implying that it is only for appearance's sake.
Example: "The charity event was criticized as a mere show of generosity, with little actual support for the cause."
Alternatives: "a mere facade of" or "a mere display of".
Bosh might have been satisfied by a mere show of progress — a playoff berth, a seven-game series, maybe a second-round appearance.
If fundamental rights can be stripped from a minority on a mere show of hands, why bother having courts and constitutions?
Argentina's captain and his Portugal counterpart winked and embraced in the tunnel in a manner that may or may not have been a mere show of public affection.
The United States delegation was apparently angered by developments early Wednesday, when Russia and its allies succeeded in winning, by a mere show of hands, approval of a resolution that mentioned the Internet.
It is much undoubted that what classifies patronage of packaged water as a survival strategy, psycho-satisfaction or a mere show of socio-economic status is more or less subjective differing with the particular prevailing situation.
Fairfax retreated to his landing boats, only to return with a fully armed squad, hoping that the mere show of force would be sufficient.
But this being Estonia, home of e-government, it was no mere show of hands.
"Half this battle is psychological, and the mere show of force by the government at these locations will put people temporarily at ease," Professor Levin said.
On the back burner, he is a terrible man to know, precisely because his biggest weapon, aside from mere shows of bravado and grandiosity, is that of insult.
The decade was more than a mere freak show of baby-boomer rebels.
Just as the 16th-century master studied an ordinary cross section of sod, and saw great, if unconventional, beauty and variety there, so Graham, in showing the range of activity in a city over the course of a mere minute, shows something unconventional but precious about life and time.
