merit
Americannoun
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claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.
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something that deserves or justifies a reward or commendation; a commendable quality, act, etc..
The book's only merit is its sincerity.
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merits, the inherent rights and wrongs of a matter, as a lawsuit, unobscured by procedural details, technicalities, personal feelings, etc..
The case will be decided on its merits alone.
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Often merits. the state or fact of deserving; desert.
to treat people according to their merits.
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Roman Catholic Church. worthiness of spiritual reward, acquired by righteous acts made under the influence of grace.
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Obsolete. something that is deserved, whether good or bad.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
adjective
noun
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worth or superior quality; excellence
work of great merit
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(often plural) a deserving or commendable quality or act
judge him on his merits
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Christianity spiritual credit granted or received for good works
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the fact or state of deserving; desert
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an obsolete word for reward
verb
Related Words
See desert 3.
Other Word Forms
- half-merited adjective
- merited adjective
- meritedly adverb
- meritless adjective
- overmerit verb
- premerit verb (used with object)
- self-merit noun
- unmerited adjective
- unmeritedly adverb
- well-merited adjective
Etymology
Origin of merit
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Latin meritum “act worthy of praise (or blame),” noun use of neuter of meritus, past participle of merēre “to earn”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
US contact with an unnamed Iranian leader - contact not confirmed by Iran - was enough to merit a five-day stay of the threatened attacks, the president said.
From BBC
In court documents, Ottawa does not weigh in on the merits of Bill 21, but argues the clause cannot be used as a blank cheque.
From BBC
Even some of the worst films I’ve ever seen have merit, buried beneath the rubble of their awfulness.
From Salon
This means the Fed could delay any interest-rate cuts until later in the year, if it determines that rate cuts are merited at all.
From Barron's
The spokesman said all settlements, including the HPE deal, “are based on the merits.”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
