merit

[mer-it]

noun

1. claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.

   Synonyms: esteem, value

2. something that deserves or justifies a reward or commendation; a commendable quality, act, etc..

   The book's only merit is its sincerity.

3. 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.

4. Often merits. the state or fact of deserving; desert.

   to treat people according to their merits.

5. Roman Catholic Church.,  worthiness of spiritual reward, acquired by righteous acts made under the influence of grace.

6. Obsolete.,  something that is deserved, whether good or bad.

verb (used with object)

1. to be worthy of; deserve.

verb (used without object)

1. Chiefly Theology.,  to acquire merit.

adjective

1. based on merit.

   a merit raise of $25 a week.

merit

/ ˈmɛrɪt /

noun

1. worth or superior quality; excellence

   work of great merit

2. (often plural) a deserving or commendable quality or act

   judge him on his merits

3. Christianity spiritual credit granted or received for good works

4. the fact or state of deserving; desert

5. an obsolete word for reward

verb

1. (tr) to be worthy of; deserve

   he merits promotion

Other Word Forms

• meritedly adverb
• meritless adjective
• half-merited adjective
• overmerit verb
• premerit verb (used with object)
• self-merit noun
• unmerited adjective
• unmeritedly adverb
• well-merited adjective
• merited adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of merit¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of merit¹

C13: via Old French from Latin meritum reward, desert, from merēre to deserve

Idioms and Phrases

see on its merits.

Synonym Study

See desert ³.

Example Sentences

With gold now $4,017 an ounce, the value of the item’s gold content alone is $10 million – not counting the extra value for artistic merit.

Read more on MarketWatch

What progressive champions of blind auditions didn’t notice until recently is that the practice, sound or not, is rooted in the principle that merit trumps identity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The merits of stock splits are debatable now that fractional trading has become commonplace.

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The Court of Auditors on Thursday said its decision was based on legal aspects of the approval of the bridge, not on the merits of the project.

Read more on Barron's

The FDA repeatedly determined a causal link hadn’t been shown that would merit a change in its safety label.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• benefit 
• dignity 
• excellence 
• integrity 
• quality 
• stature 
• talent 
• value 
• virtue 
• worthiness