demerit

[ dih-mer-it ]

/ dɪˈmɛr ɪt /

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See synonyms for demerit on Thesaurus.com

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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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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

Words nearby demerit

dementia pugilistica, demento, demerara, demerge, demerger, demerit, Demerol, demersal, demesne, Demeter, demeton

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use demerit in a sentence

This year, with truly hard snow topped with death cookies, the easy and light skiing feel of the 99 was a mild demerit.
Runners-Up Review: The All-Mountain Skis That Almost Made Our 2022 Winter Buyer’s Guide|agintzler|December 17, 2021|Outside Online
The Lichess analysis, powered by the Stockfish chess engine, also awards a variety of demerits to imperfect play — “inaccuracies,” “mistakes” and “blunders.”
Brilliance And Blunders Have Defined The World Chess Championship|Oliver Roeder|December 8, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
His houseparents that year talked through his feelings and didn’t give him demerits, he said.
“I Finally Got to the Mountaintop and I Failed”|by Bob Fernandez, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Charlotte Keith, Spotlight PA|June 10, 2021|ProPublica
He also remembers receiving demerit points for breaking a door and cursing at one of his houseparents.
“I Finally Got to the Mountaintop and I Failed”|by Bob Fernandez, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Charlotte Keith, Spotlight PA|June 10, 2021|ProPublica

An offense that one set of houseparents might shrug off could result in demerits in another student home.
“I Finally Got to the Mountaintop and I Failed”|by Bob Fernandez, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Charlotte Keith, Spotlight PA|June 10, 2021|ProPublica
Another demerit of the American system of employer-based coverage.
Wanted: A More Radical Plan to Reduce Unemployment|David Frum|May 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
At West Point he graduated second in his class, and better than that, he never received a demerit all the time he was there.
Robert E. Lee|Ruth Hill
Eliphaz represents the correct Jewish view that everything is reward or punishment for merit and demerit.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy|Isaac Husik
But, galled and stung by a sense of my follies and demerit, I strove to throw the blame on others.
The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1, April, 1851|Various
I am room orderly this week, and am going to have things kept straight, for I can't afford to take any more demerit.
Frank Merriwell's Chums|Burt L. Standish
He had thus a strong feeling against him in Italy independent of any demerit of his own.
The Makers of Modern Rome|Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

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

demerit

Origin of demerit

OTHER WORDS FROM demerit

Words nearby demerit

Words related to demerit

How to use demerit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for demerit

Derived forms of demerit

Word Origin for demerit