demerit
/dɪˈmɛɹɪt/
demerit noun: a quality of being inadequate; a disadvantage, a fault.
Noun
demerit (countable and uncountable, plural demerits)
- A quality of being inadequate; a disadvantage, a fault.
- [W]hatever they acquire by their Induſtry or Ingenuity […] ſhould be as much their Property, as any diviſions of Land or of Stock that are made to the Sons; and the Poſſeſſion as ſecure, unleſs forfeited by any demerit or offence againſt the cuſtoms of the Family, which grow with time to be the...1679, William Temple, “An Essay upon the Original and Nature of Government. […]”, in Miscellanea. […], London: […] A. M. and R. R. for Edw[ard] Gellibrand, […], →OCLC, page 70
- They see no merit or demerit in any man or any action.1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC
- A mark given for bad conduct to a person attending an educational institution or serving in the army.
- A few of you have followed in the path of the perfect West Point graduate, Robert E. Lee, who never received a single demerit in four years. Some of you followed in the path of the imperfect graduate, Ulysses S. Grant, who had his fair share of demerits, and said the happiest day of his life was...2002, George W. Bush, Commencement Address at West Point
- That which one merits or deserves, either of good or ill; desert.
- I fall to riſe, mount to thy maker, ſpirit, /. Leaue here thy body, death ha's her demerit.c. 1610 (first performance), attributed to John Marston, and/or William Barkstead and Lewis Machin, The Insatiate Countesse. A Tragedie: […], London: […] T[homas] S[nodham] for Thomas Archer, […]...
- But when firſt Cleobulus the tyrant of the Lindians, and then Periander the tyrant likewiſe of Corinth (who had neither of them any one jot of vertue or wiſdome) by the greatneſſe of their power, by the number of their friends, and by many benefits and demerits whereby they obliged their adherents...1603, Plutarch, “What Signifieth this Word Ei, Engraven over the Dore of Apolloes Temple in the City of Delphi”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Philosophie, Commonlie Called, The Morals […]...
Verb
demerit (third-person singular simple present demerits, present participle demeriting, simple past and past participle demerited)
- To deserve.
- You hold that every sin is an infinite evil, demeriting endless punishment.1840, Alexander Campbell, Dolphus Skinner, A discussion of the doctrines of the endless misery and universal salvation, page 351
- To depreciate or cry down.
- Faith by her own dignity and worthiness doth not demerit justice and righteousness; but receiveth and embraceth the same offered unto us in the gospel […]1576, John Woolton, The Christian Manuell
demerit meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Kannada and Sanskrit
demerit in Tamil
- குறை, குற்றம்
demerit in Urdu
- خرابی, ذم
demerit in Kannada
- ಕುಂದು, ಕೊರತೆ, ದೋಷ, ಅಯೋಗ್ಯತೆ, ಅವಗುಣ
demerit in Sanskrit
- demerit, sin
- अकुशल ákuśala
Synonyms of demerit
Antonyms
Forms of demerit
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | demerits |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | demerits |
| present participle | demeriting |
| past participle | demerited |
| past | demerited |
Origin of demerit
From Middle English demerit, demerite, from Old French desmerite (modern French démérite) and its etymon Latin dēmeritum. By surface analysis, de- + merit.
From Latin dēmerit-, the past partipicial stem of dēmereō. By surface analysis, de- + merit.
Words formed from demerit
Phrases with demerit
Words that rhyme with demerit
Questions about demerit
- What does demerit mean?
- Demerit means a quality of being inadequate; a disadvantage, a fault.
- What is demerit in Tamil?
- Demerit in Tamil is குறை, குற்றம். See Demerit meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is demerit?
- Demerit can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce demerit?
- Demerit is pronounced /dɪˈmɛɹɪt/.
- What is the plural of demerit?
- The plural of demerit is demerits.
Words near demerit in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: demerit (page history and authors); demerit (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); demerit (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); demerit (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); अकुशल (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-demerit.wav.
Cite this entry: “demerit.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/demerit. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.