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demerit

[ dih-mer-it ]
/ dɪˈmɛr ɪt /
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noun
a mark against a person for misconduct or deficiency: If you receive four demerits during a term, you will be expelled from school.
the quality of being censurable or punishable; fault; culpability.
Obsolete. merit or desert.
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Origin of demerit

1350–1400; Middle English (<Old French desmerite) <Medieval Latin dēmeritum fault, noun use of neuter past participle of Latin dēmerēre to earn, win the favor of (dē- taken in ML as privative, hence pejorative). See de-, merit

OTHER WORDS FROM demerit

de·mer·i·to·ri·ous [dih-mer-i-tawr-ee-uhs, -tohr-], /dɪˌmɛr ɪˈtɔr i əs, -ˈtoʊr-/, adjectivede·mer·i·to·ri·ous·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use demerit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for demerit

demerit
/ (diːˈmɛrɪt, ˈdiːˌmɛrɪt) /

noun
something, esp conduct, that deserves censure
US and Canadian a mark given against a person for failure or misconduct, esp in schools or the armed forces
a fault or disadvantage

Derived forms of demerit

demeritorious, adjectivedemeritoriously, adverb

Word Origin for demerit

C14 (originally: worth, later specialized to mean: something worthy of blame): from Latin dēmerērī to deserve
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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