merit
Use Merit in a sentence
ɪt noun
1.
claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.
2.
something that deserves or justifies a reward or commendation; a commendable quality, act, etc.: The book's only merit is its sincerity.
3.
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.
4.
Often, merits. the state or fact of deserving; desert: to treat people according to their merits.
5.
Roman Catholic Church. worthiness of spiritual reward, acquired by righteous acts made under the influence of grace.
verb (used with object)
7.
to be worthy of; deserve.
00:10
Merit
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
verb (used without object)
8.
Chiefly Theology. to acquire merit.
adjective
9.
based on merit: a merit raise of $25 a week.
Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English < Latin meritum act worthy of praise (or blame), noun use of neuter of meritus, past participle of merēre to earn
1175–1225; Middle English < Latin meritum act worthy of praise (or blame), noun use of neuter of meritus, past participle of merēre to earn
Related forms
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)
Synonyms
1. value, credit. Merit, desert, worth refer to the quality in a person, action, or thing that entitles recognition, especially favorable recognition. Merit is usually the excellence that entitles to praise: a person of great merit. Desert is the quality that entitles one to a just reward: according to her deserts. Worth is always used in a favorable sense and signifies inherent value or goodness: The worth of your contribution is incalculable.
1. value, credit. Merit, desert, worth refer to the quality in a person, action, or thing that entitles recognition, especially favorable recognition. Merit is usually the excellence that entitles to praise: a person of great merit. Desert is the quality that entitles one to a just reward: according to her deserts. Worth is always used in a favorable sense and signifies inherent value or goodness: The worth of your contribution is incalculable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To merit
Collins
World English Dictionary
merit (ˈmɛrɪt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 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. | 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, -ited | |
| 6. | (tr) to be worthy of; deserve: he merits promotion |
| [C13: via Old French from Latin meritum reward, desert, from merēre to deserve] | |
| 'merited | |
| —adj | |
| 'meritless | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
merit
c.1300, from O.Fr. merite, from L. meritum "desert, reward, merit," neut. of meritus, pp. of merere, meriri "to earn, deserve, acquire, gain," from PIE base *(s)mer- "to allot, assign" (cf. Gk. meros "part, lot," moira "share, fate," moros "fate, destiny, doom," Hittite mark "to divide" a sacrifice).
The verb meaning "to be entitled to" is from 1520s, from L. meritare, frequentative of mereri, meant "to earn (money);" also "to serve as a soldier." Related: Merited; merits. Merit-monger was in common use 16c.-17c. in a sense roughly of "do-gooder."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Some people, of course, would quarrel with the notion that literary merit can be quantified.
Never impose a candidate on a department without its consent, and never waver from the principle of merit.
They did not receive excessive financial merit either.
My criterion was simple: choose significant poems of literary merit.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
