1
as in distinction
a quality that gives something special worth
this mystery novel at least has the merit of an original plot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in value
the relative usefulness or importance of something as judged by specific qualities
that idea has some merit, so let's explore it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of merit
Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
When a federal district judge threw out Bost's lawsuit in 2022, the decision stemmed from the question of whether the congressman and the electors had the grounds to sue, not the merits of his legal argument about mail-in ballots.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2025
Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025
Gardner’s photograph merits attention.
—Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for merit
Noun
The low average calls into question not only the system and its approach, but the performance of Philadelphia’s offensive line — a consideration that, without merit, borders blasphemy against what’s long been one of the league’s best units.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
When a federal district judge threw out Bost's lawsuit in 2022, the decision stemmed from the question of whether the congressman and the electors had the grounds to sue, not the merits of his legal argument about mail-in ballots.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2025
Verb
That wasn't even enough to merit a silver medal to Swift's gold; that prize instead went to Paul Thomas Anderson's radical political farce One Battle After Another, which continues to perform exceedingly well in its second week of release.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025
Gardner’s photograph merits attention.
—Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for merit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for merit
Noun
-
When counseling clients, financial advisors often draw a distinction between investing and speculation.—
Ryan Ermey,
CNBC,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Find the distinction in your relationships as Venus enters Libra.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Packages with values of $800 or less, which were previously allowed to enter the United States duty-free, are now subject to a range of tariffs and fees.—
Kayla Steinberg,
NBC news,
10 Oct. 2025
-
So Spectrum now wants to encourage its customers to take advantage of those subscriptions, which the company says provides more than $125 per month in value, by launching a new Spectrum app store in its mobile app and on its website, which is meant to streamline that process.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Lewis rejected their challenge of Ruiz’s conviction but agreed the sentence deserved another look.—
Amy Yurkanin,
ProPublica,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Carnell Tate, Ohio State I was somewhat underwhelmed by the draft-eligible wide receivers over the summer, but the position deserves a much more optimistic outlook six weeks into the season.—
Dane Brugler,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
One major advantage of developing artificial intelligence in China lies in the availability of large, high-quality datasets, particularly coming from hospitals that are often willing to share medical information for research purposes.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
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Who is looking strongest for these next three races/who has the advantage beyond just points standings?—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
On Thursday, city leaders, friends, family and former colleagues spoke about the importance of Morrow’s work for the Black community and San Diego.—
Maura Fox,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Barnett, a respected figure in the explosives industry, emphasized the importance of revisiting safety protocols in light of the incident.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The virtue of independence is the companion of freedom.—
John H Bolthouse,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Oct. 2025
-
But trends, especially on social media, that fallback on body-shaming stereotypes casting thinness as a virtue haven't disappeared.—
Stephanie Ganz,
Parents,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Given the excellence of the Dodgers’ rotation, the Brewers may feel pressure to create, well, pressure.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
14 Oct. 2025
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Hosted by award-winning actor, writer, and producer Aasif Mandvi, the milestone event is said to host a variety of leading filmmakers, industry professionals, and special guests for an evening celebrating excellence in documentary filmmaking.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Merit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/merit. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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