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.
A spokesperson for Paramount wrote in a statement to The Times that “these baseless claims lack legal or factual merit. We strongly reject them and will respond accordingly through the court process.”
From Los Angeles Times
"We've seen that the complaints truly had no merit, and the president is confident he committed no impeachable offence," she told reporters after the ruling, adding Marcos believed it was now time to "move forward".
From Barron's
Chatting at a hot yoga studio, students debated the merits of a festival that has defined much of the town’s culture.
Generally, knowing an artist’s biography isn’t essential to the experience of the work, which must live on its own merits.
Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, whose office kicked off the inquiry, said External link this month that her office “makes decisions based on the merits, nothing more and nothing less.”
From Barron's
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.
