Demerit vs. Merit

Demeritnoun

A quality of being inadequate; a fault; a disadvantage

Meritnoun

(countable) A claim to commendation or a reward.

Demeritnoun

A mark given for bad conduct to a person attending an educational institution or serving in the army.

Meritnoun

(countable) A mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence.

‘For her good performance in the examination, her teacher gave her ten merits.’;

Demeritnoun

That which one merits or deserves, either of good or ill; desert.

Meritnoun

Something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward.

‘His reward for his merit was a check for $50.’;

Demeritverb

To deserve.

Meritnoun

The sum of all the good deeds that a person does which determines the quality of the person's next state of existence and contributes to the person's growth towards enlightenment.

‘to acquire or make merit’;

Demeritverb

To depreciate or cry down.

Meritnoun

Usually in the plural form the merits: the substantive rightness or wrongness of a legal argument, a lawsuit, etc., as opposed to technical matters such as the admissibility of evidence or points of legal procedure; (by extension) the overall good or bad quality, or rightness or wrongness, of some other thing.

‘Even though the plaintiff was ordered by the judge to pay some costs for not having followed the correct procedure, she won the case on the merits.’;

Demeritnoun

That which one merits or deserves, either of good or ill; desert.

‘By many benefits and demerits whereby they obliged their adherents, [they] acquired this reputation.’;

Meritnoun

The quality or state of deserving retribution, whether reward or punishment.

Demeritnoun

That which deserves blame; ill desert; a fault; a vice; misconduct; - the opposite of merit.

‘They see no merit or demerit in any man or any action.’; ‘Secure, unless forfeited by any demerit or offense.’;

Meritverb

(transitive) To deserve, to earn.

‘Her performance merited wild applause.’;

Demeritnoun

The state of one who deserves ill.

Meritverb

(intransitive) To be deserving or worthy.

‘They were punished as they merited.’;

Demeritverb

To deserve; - said in reference to both praise and blame.

‘If I have demerited any love or thanks.’; ‘Executed as a traitor . . . as he well demerited.’;

Meritverb

To reward.

Demeritverb

To depreciate or cry down.

Meritnoun

The quality or state of deserving well or ill; desert.

‘Here may men see how sin hath his merit.’; ‘Be it known, that we, the greatest, are misthoughtFor things that others do; and when we fall,We answer other's merits in our name.’;

Demeritverb

To deserve praise or blame.

Meritnoun

The quality or state of deserving well; worth; excellence.

‘Reputation is . . . oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.’; ‘To him the wit of Greece and Rome was known,And every author's merit, but his own.’;

Demeritnoun

a mark against a person for misconduct or failure; usually given in school or armed forces;

‘ten demerits and he loses his privileges’;

Meritnoun

Reward deserved; any mark or token of excellence or approbation; as, his teacher gave him ten merits.

‘Those laurel groves, the merits of thy youth.’;

Demeritnoun

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’;

Meritverb

To earn by service or performance; to have a right to claim as reward; to deserve; sometimes, to deserve in a bad sense; as, to merit punishment.

Meritverb

To reward.

Meritverb

To acquire desert; to gain value; to receive benefit; to profit.

Meritnoun

any admirable quality or attribute;

‘work of great merit’;

Meritnoun

the quality of being deserving (e.g., deserving assistance);

‘there were many children whose deservingness he recognized and rewarded’;

Meritverb

be worthy or deserving;

‘You deserve a promotion after all the hard work you have done’;