demerit

[ dih-mer-it ]
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noun
  1. a mark against a person for misconduct or deficiency: If you receive four demerits during a term, you will be expelled from school.

  2. the quality of being censurable or punishable; fault; culpability.

  1. Obsolete. merit or desert.

Origin of demerit

1
1350–1400; Middle English (<Old French desmerite) <Medieval Latin dēmeritum fault, noun use of neuter past participle of Latin dēmerēre to earn, win the favor of (dē- taken in ML as privative, hence pejorative). See de-, merit

Other words from demerit

  • de·mer·i·to·ri·ous [dih-mer-i-tawr-ee-uhs, -tohr-], /dɪˌmɛr ɪˈtɔr i əs, -ˈtoʊr-/, adjective
  • de·mer·i·to·ri·ous·ly, adverb

Words Nearby demerit

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How to use demerit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for demerit

demerit

/ (diːˈmɛrɪt, ˈdiːˌmɛrɪt) /


noun
  1. something, esp conduct, that deserves censure

  2. US and Canadian a mark given against a person for failure or misconduct, esp in schools or the armed forces

  1. a fault or disadvantage

Origin of demerit

1
C14 (originally: worth, later specialized to mean: something worthy of blame): from Latin dēmerērī to deserve

Derived forms of demerit

  • demeritorious, adjective
  • demeritoriously, adverb

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