merited

mer·it  (mrt)

n.

1.

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. An aspect of character or behavior deserving approval or disapproval. Often used in the plural: judging people according to their merits.

4. Christianity Spiritual credit granted for good works.

5. merits

a. Law A party's strict legal rights, excluding jurisdictional, personal, or technical aspects.

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 earn¹.

v.intr.

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

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[Middle English, from Old French merite, reward or punishment, from Latin meritum, from neuter past participle of merre, to deserve; see (s)mer-² in Indo-European roots.]

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merit·less adj.

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

merited - properly deserved; "a merited success" deserved unmerited - not merited or deserved; "received an unmerited honorary degree"

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merited

adjective deserved, justified, warranted, just, earned, appropriate, entitled, rightful, condign, rightly due