merit
claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.
something that deserves or justifies a reward or commendation; a commendable quality, act, etc.: The book's only merit is its sincerity.
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.
Often merits. the state or fact of deserving; desert: to treat people according to their merits.
Roman Catholic Church. worthiness of spiritual reward, acquired by righteous acts made under the influence of grace.
Obsolete. something that is deserved, whether good or bad.
to be worthy of; deserve.
Chiefly Theology. to acquire merit.
based on merit: a merit raise of $25 a week.
Origin of merit
1synonym study For merit
word story For merit
The earliest English sense of the noun is religious and theological, “the quality of (a person or action) being entitled to a reward from God,” which will be familiar to anyone who attended parochial school. The legal term merits, i.e., “the intrinsic rights or wrongs of a case or matter, without consideration of procedural details, personal feelings, etc.,” dates from the end of the 15th century. The British Order of Merit, an award given to civilians and members of the armed forces, first appears in English in 1799, and is modeled on the Pour le Mérite established by King Frederick II (“Frederick the Great”) of Prussia in 1740.
Other words for merit
Other words from merit
- mer·it·ed·ly, adverb
- mer·it·less, adjective
- half-mer·it·ed, adjective
- o·ver·mer·it, verb
- pre·mer·it, verb (used with object)
- self-merit, noun
- un·mer·it·ed, adjective
- un·mer·it·ed·ly, adverb
- well-mer·it·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for merit
/ (ˈmɛrɪt) /
worth or superior quality; excellence: work of great merit
(often plural) a deserving or commendable quality or act: judge him on his merits
Christianity spiritual credit granted or received for good works
the fact or state of deserving; desert
an obsolete word for reward
(tr) to be worthy of; deserve: he merits promotion
Origin of merit
1- See also merits
Derived forms of merit
- merited, adjective
- meritless, adjective
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with merit
see on its merits.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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