Demerit vs. Merit

Demerit vs. Merit — Is There a Difference?
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Difference Between Demerit and 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.
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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

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

ten demerits and he loses his privileges

Meritnoun

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

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Demeritnoun

the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection;

they discussed the merits and demerits of her novelhe knew his own faults much better than she did

Meritverb

(transitive) To deserve, to earn.

Her performance merited wild applause.

Meritverb

(intransitive) To be deserving or worthy.

They were punished as they merited.

Meritverb

To reward.

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