meritnoun [ C or U ]
uk/ˈmer.ɪt/us/ˈmer.ɪt/C1 formal the quality of being good and deserving praise:
an entertaining film with little artistic merit
Her ideas have merit.
Brierley's book has the merit of being both informative and readable.
the merits of sth
the advantages something has compared to something else:
We discussed the merits of herbal tea.
on your (own) merits
according to the qualities you have or have shown, without considering any other information or comparing you to someone else:
The committee will consider/judge each applicant on his or her own merits.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Deserving and deserved
- birthright
- come
- comeuppance
- deserts
- deserve
- deserved
- deservedly
- deserving
- get your just deserts idiom
- had it coming (to you) idiom
- hard-earned
- he/she deserves whatever/everything he/she gets idiom
- just
- serve
- serve sb right idiom
- well earned
- worthy
- worthy
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Advantage and disadvantage
Unbiased or impartial
meritverb [ T ]
uk/ˈmer.ɪt/us/ˈmer.ɪt/formalC2 If something merits a particular treatment, it deserves or is considered important enough to be treated in that way:
This plan merits careful attention.
The accident merited only a small paragraph in the local paper.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Deserving and deserved
- birthright
- come
- comeuppance
- deserts
- deserve
- deserved
- deservedly
- deserving
- get your just deserts idiom
- had it coming (to you) idiom
- hard-earned
- he/she deserves whatever/everything he/she gets idiom
- just
- serve
- serve sb right idiom
- well earned
- worthy
- worthy