de·serv·ing
di-ˈzər-viŋ 
1
: having good qualities that deserve praise, support, etc. : meritorious, worthy
rewarding deserving workers
scholarships for deserving students
2
: appropriately having or being given something specified
—used with of
a proposal deserving of support [=a proposal that deserves support]
a criminal deserving of punishment
deservingly
adverb
deservingness
noun
Examples of deserving in a Sentence
Adjective
He's a very deserving young man.
The church provides aid to deserving families.
Recent Examples on the Web
Sophia Stewart, The Atlantic, 18 Aug. 2025
While a revision of that size is arguably a statistical anomaly, and deserving of looking into, President Trump instead decided to fire the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner in charge of the report.
—Jj Kinahan, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Paul J. Becker, The Conversation, 5 Sep. 2025
There is perhaps no nail color more famous and more deserving of its notoriety as Big Apple Red.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deserving
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Noun
Further, these books present disabled experience as worthy of study and analysis, and deserving of the same care and attention that any literary work demands.
—Sophia Stewart, The Atlantic, 18 Aug. 2025
While a revision of that size is arguably a statistical anomaly, and deserving of looking into, President Trump instead decided to fire the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner in charge of the report.
—Jj Kinahan, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
The creation of a white ethnostate is often seen as an ultimate goal of such white nationalism, which argues that white people form part of a genetically and culturally superior race deserving of protection and preservation.
—Paul J. Becker, The Conversation, 5 Sep. 2025
There is perhaps no nail color more famous and more deserving of its notoriety as Big Apple Red.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deserving
Cite this Entry
“Deserving.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deserving. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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