merit

mer·it

(mĕr′ĭt)

a. Superior quality or worth; excellence: a proposal of some merit; an ill-advised plan without merit.

b. A quality deserving praise or approval; virtue: a store having the merit of being open late.

2. Demonstrated ability or achievement: promotions based on merit alone.

3. often merits An aspect of character or behavior deserving approval or disapproval: judging people according to their merits.

4. In various religions, spiritual credit granted for good works.

5. merits

a. Law The factors to be considered in making a substantive decision in a case, independent of procedural or technical aspects: a trial on the merits.

b. The factual content of a matter, apart from emotional, contextual, or formal considerations.

v. mer·it·ed, mer·it·ing, mer·its

v.tr.

To earn; deserve. See Synonyms at earn.

v.intr.

To be worthy or deserving: Pupils are rewarded or corrected, as they merit.

[Middle English, from Old French merite, reward or punishment, from Latin meritum, from neuter past participle of merēre, to deserve; see (s)mer- in Indo-European roots.]

mer′it·less adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

merit

(ˈmɛrɪt)

1. worth or superior quality; excellence: work of great merit.

2. (often plural) a deserving or commendable quality or act: judge him on his merits.

3. (Theology) Christianity spiritual credit granted or received for good works

4. the fact or state of deserving; desert

5. an obsolete word for reward

vb, -its, -iting or -ited

(tr) to be worthy of; deserve: he merits promotion.

[C13: via Old French from Latin meritum reward, desert, from merēre to deserve]

ˈmerited adj

ˈmeritless adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mer•it

(ˈmɛr ɪt)

1. claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.

2. something that deserves praise or reward; commendable quality or act: Its chief merit is sincerity.

3. merits, the inherent rights and wrongs of a matter unobscured by procedural details, personal feelings, etc.

4. Often, merits. the state or fact of deserving; desert: to treat people according to their merits.

5. claim to spiritual reward, earned by the performance of righteous acts.

v.t.

6. to be worthy of; deserve.

[1175–1225; Middle English < Latin meritum noteworthy act, from neuter of meritus, past participle of merēre to earn]

merit

Past participle: merited
Gerund: meriting

Imperative
merit
merit

Present
I merit
you merit
he/she/it merits
we merit
you merit
they merit

Preterite
I merited
you merited
he/she/it merited
we merited
you merited
they merited

Present Continuous
I am meriting
you are meriting
he/she/it is meriting
we are meriting
you are meriting
they are meriting

Present Perfect
I have merited
you have merited
he/she/it has merited
we have merited
you have merited
they have merited

Past Continuous
I was meriting
you were meriting
he/she/it was meriting
we were meriting
you were meriting
they were meriting

Past Perfect
I had merited
you had merited
he/she/it had merited
we had merited
you had merited
they had merited

Future
I will merit
you will merit
he/she/it will merit
we will merit
you will merit
they will merit

Future Perfect
I will have merited
you will have merited
he/she/it will have merited
we will have merited
you will have merited
they will have merited

Future Continuous
I will be meriting
you will be meriting
he/she/it will be meriting
we will be meriting
you will be meriting
they will be meriting

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been meriting
you have been meriting
he/she/it has been meriting
we have been meriting
you have been meriting
they have been meriting

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been meriting
you will have been meriting
he/she/it will have been meriting
we will have been meriting
you will have been meriting
they will have been meriting

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been meriting
you had been meriting
he/she/it had been meriting
we had been meriting
you had been meriting
they had been meriting

Conditional
I would merit
you would merit
he/she/it would merit
we would merit
you would merit
they would merit

Past Conditional
I would have merited
you would have merited
he/she/it would have merited
we would have merited
you would have merited
they would have merited

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

merit - any admirable quality or attribute; "work of great merit"

worth - the quality that renders something desirable or valuable or useful

demerit, fault - the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection; "they discussed the merits and demerits of her novel"; "he knew his own faults much better than she did"

merit - the quality of being deserving (e.g., deserving assistance); "there were many children whose deservingness he recognized and rewarded"

worthiness - the quality or state of having merit or value

Verb

merit - be worthy or deserving; "You deserve a promotion after all the hard work you have done"

be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer"

have it coming - deserve (either good or bad); "It's too bad he got fired, but he sure had it coming"

merit

noun

1. worth, value, quality, credit, talent, desert, virtue, integrity, excellence, goodness, worthiness Box-office success mattered more than artistic merit.

verb

1. deserve, warrant, be entitled to, earn, incur, have a right to, be worthy of, have a claim to Such ideas merit careful consideration.

Quotations
"What is merit? The opinion one man entertains of another" [Lord Palmerston]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

merit

noun

1. A level of superiority that is usually high:

2. A special feature or quality that confers superiority:

verb

To acquire as a result of one's behavior or effort:

Translations

جَدارَه، إسْتِحْقاقحَسَنَه، ميزَهيَسْتَحِق

přednostvynikající vlastnostzasloužitzásluha

fordelfortjenefortjeneste

ansio

eiga skiliîkosturverîleiki; kostur; gildi

būti vertamgera savybėnuopelnaspagyrimo vertas

izpelnītieslaba īpašībanopelni

zásluhazaslúžiť

odlikazaslužiti si

förtjänst

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

merit

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

merit

(ˈmerit) noun

1. the quality of worth, excellence or praiseworthiness. He reached his present position through merit.

2. a good point or quality. His speech had at least the merit of being short.

verb

to deserve as reward or punishment. Your case merits careful consideration.

ˌmeriˈtorious (-ˈtoː-) adjective

deserving reward or praise. a meritorious performance.