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Synonyms

just deserts

Idioms  

  1. A deserved punishment or reward, as in He got his just deserts when Mary jilted him. This idiom employs desert in the sense of “what one deserves,” a usage dating from the 1300s but obsolete except in this expression.

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.

Kakkar has a later over-the-top turn as the elderly Alexander Iden, who gives Cade his just deserts despite her character’s conspicuous frailty.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2024

However, the study said that there was no significant association between the belief in just deserts and where a person lived, their educational background or their job.

From Washington Times • Dec. 20, 2022

There will be England fans who feel it is an overdue serving of just deserts.

From BBC • Nov. 19, 2021

To some, his fall was just deserts for a flashy millionaire and gleeful self-promoter.

From Washington Post • Oct. 4, 2021

It would get its just deserts soon enough.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

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.