as in weakness
a defect in character
my keyboarding has the advantage of speed but the demerit of inaccuracy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of demerit
Restaurants that receive more than 30 demerits are required to immediately fix the most critical violations and start corrective procedures on all the other violations within 48 hours.
—
Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Sep. 2025
India’s wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant received a demerit point from the ICC after the first Test at Headingley for throwing the ball on the floor in frustration after umpire Paul Reiffel had inspected it and turned down his request for a replacement.
—James Wallace, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
Food and diet researchers are also criticizing the direction the National Institutes of Health are going in possibly stifling debate regarding the merits and demerits of different foods.
—Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
Extra demerits for making such statements at a music festival.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Sep. 2025
India’s wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant received a demerit point from the ICC after the first Test at Headingley for throwing the ball on the floor in frustration after umpire Paul Reiffel had inspected it and turned down his request for a replacement.
—James Wallace, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
Food and diet researchers are also criticizing the direction the National Institutes of Health are going in possibly stifling debate regarding the merits and demerits of different foods.
—Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
Extra demerits for making such statements at a music festival.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demerit
Noun
-
The Anglo-Saxons, who have been given the multiracial treatment by the BBC’s casting directors, are squabbling natives whose weakness invites foreign interference.—
Will Collins,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
-
The amendment’s most glaring weakness lies in Section 4, which addresses presidential incapacity when the president cannot or will not acknowledge their disability.—
Lynn Schmidt,
Twin Cities,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The characters’ faults, however, lie not in their stars but in themselves.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
18 Sep. 2025
-
In her comments, many agreed that OP was not at fault.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Sagrada Família was founded as an expiatory church, meaning that it would be financed by prayerful donations from people atoning for their sins.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Lee and her brother William would preach far and wide to attract people to their cause (a necessity, given the lifetime celibacy requirement) and their pursuit of a utopian society free of any and all sin.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
And even newer backup technologies face shortcomings; for instance, visual systems can fail because of cloud cover or when used over water.—
Paul Smith-Goodson,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Following yet another collapse on Tuesday night in which the Dodgers turned a 4-0 lead and no-hitter through five innings into a 9-6 loss, manager Dave Roberts was asked to dissect his bullpen's shortcomings.—
Noah Camras,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
To date, however, there has been almost no attention paid to Ascension's failings that made the attack possible.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Humans and their problems are messy and fickle; ChatGPT’s responses will be individual and its failings unpredictable in kind.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Maasai had vitamin A and C deficiencies due to meat and dairy exclusivity.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
B vitamins have been reported to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and depression associated with vitamin B12 deficiency.—
Alessandra Signorelli,
Vogue,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demerit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demerit. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share