Demerit
[diː'merɪt] or [di'mɛrɪt]
Definition
(noun.) the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection; 'they discussed the merits and demerits of her novel'; 'he knew his own faults much better than she did'.
(noun.) a mark against a person for misconduct or failure; usually given in school or armed forces; 'ten demerits and he loses his privileges'.
Editor: Quentin--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) That which one merits or deserves, either of good or ill; desert.
(n.) That which deserves blame; ill desert; a fault; a vice; misconduct; -- the opposite of merit.
(n.) The state of one who deserves ill.
(n.) To deserve; -- said in reference to both praise and blame.
(n.) To depreciate or cry down.
(v. i.) To deserve praise or blame.
Inputed by Alan
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Fault, vice, crime, delinquency, transgression, ill desert.
Inputed by Bernard
Synonyms and Antonyms
[See MERIT_and_FAULT]
Edited by Astor
Definition
n. ill-desert: fault: crime.
Checked by Enrique
Examples
- Now since it is granted there is a delight or uneasiness still attending merit or demerit of every kind, this is all that is requisite for my purpose. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- The merit and demerit of actions frequently contradict, and sometimes controul our natural propensities. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- Mrs. Norris, whose attachment seemed to augment with the demerits of her niece, would have had her received at home and countenanced by them all. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- I must have been very ill employed, if I could not leave its merits and demerits as a whole, to express themselves on its being read as a whole. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- I immediately began to discuss the merits and demerits of Frederick with my usual and abrupt frankness. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Everything natural, probable, reasonable, was against it; all their habits and ways of thinking, and all her own demerits. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
Inputed by Errol