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.
Though Gyllenhaal admits there were moments of “friction” and that Abdy “has a slightly different agenda than I do,” she now sees the merit in the process.
From Los Angeles Times
For all of the film’s expository merit, for all of the care and efficiency Hughes exhibited in creating such wonderful and instantly lovable women, “Pretty in Pink” flubs the landing.
From Salon
"If the competition will be fair, with no biases, I will make it. I have the CV; I have the merits."
From Barron's
Elsewhere, analysts saw merit in the AI explanation.
From MarketWatch
“The projects have merit. They were chosen for a reason.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
