as in weakness
a defect in character
my keyboarding has the advantage of speed but the demerit of inaccuracy
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Recent Examples of demerit
Restaurants with over 30 demerits are required to fix the worst issues immediately and remedy the rest within 48 hours.
—
Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Mar. 2025
One was their head-to-head matchup, which UCLA won 77-62 in November, and the other was South Carolina’s blowout loss to UConn in mid-February, a demerit in the committee’s mind for being an uncompetitive loss.
—Ben Pickman, The Athletic, 17 Mar. 2025
Tarrant County’s inspections function on a demerit system: a score of 100 is considered perfect, and a score of 70 is considered to be extremely poor.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Mar. 2025
Ten moderate Democrats voted with Republicans to approve the official demerit.
Green, well known as a Trump critic, could face additional repercussions.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Mar. 2025
One was their head-to-head matchup, which UCLA won 77-62 in November, and the other was South Carolina’s blowout loss to UConn in mid-February, a demerit in the committee’s mind for being an uncompetitive loss.
—Ben Pickman, The Athletic, 17 Mar. 2025
Tarrant County’s inspections function on a demerit system: a score of 100 is considered perfect, and a score of 70 is considered to be extremely poor.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Mar. 2025
Ten moderate Democrats voted with Republicans to approve the official demerit.
Green, well known as a Trump critic, could face additional repercussions.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demerit
Noun
-
However, economists say trade deficits aren’t a sign of national weakness.—
Time,
Time,
9 Apr. 2025
-
The dollar strengthened after days of weakness, and oil rose back above $60, starting to climb out of a danger zone.—
Ben Berkowitz,
Axios,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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At that meeting, Yancy’s brother Darren told commissioners that the fault for the jail deaths lies with Waybourn.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Apr. 2025
-
The 29-year-old was at fault for both of Lyon’s goals in Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final first leg in France, which United drew 2-2.—
David Ornstein,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Landing in the bottom are Henry (for the sin of a spongy scallion pancake), Paula (for texture issues), and Bailey (for the aforementioned Pile of Stuff).—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2025
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But the occasional poach is perhaps no great sin, more akin to driving over the speed limit than, say, starting a forest fire.—
Mark Sundeen,
Outside Online,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Less than three weeks after his storybook St. John’s season came to a sudden end, the Hall of Fame coach acknowledged a shortcoming that’s helped drive his roster building this spring.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
17 Apr. 2025
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And while the firings of three coaches at the end of last season could be interpreted as a warning shot to Hyde, Elias surely knows the responsibility for the team’s current shortcomings falls more on him than his manager.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Organizations must stop treating burnout as a personal failing or an unavoidable reality of today’s workplace, and start recognizing it as a systemic issue.—
William Arruda,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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One major failing has been a slow response to an obvious need for more water storage — either in reservoirs or underground aquifers — to capture winter rains and spring snowmelts as a buffer for dry years.—
Dan Walters,
The Mercury News,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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That deficiency intensified now that Brown is heading to Jacksonville on a one-year deal, according to a team source.—
Ben Standig,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
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According to a 2023 study, 35% of adults in the US are suffering from a vitamin D deficiency, and that can lead to a number of issues (poor immune system, risk of certain cancers, and liver and kidney disease, to name just a few).—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
11 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demerit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demerit. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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