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
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However, economists say trade deficits aren’t a sign of national weakness.—
Time,
Time,
9 Apr. 2025
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The visualisations below make clear how Arsenal can attack Madrid’s areas of weakness.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The ’keeper was very much at fault for Newcastle’s final goal, clipping a pass straight to Joelinton, who passed for Bruno Guimaraes to add the fourth.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2025
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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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Kylian Mbappe has been isolated since the turn of the year, and too little is being said about the shortcomings in attack.—
Mario Cortegana,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
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However, the Highway Performance Monitoring System also has several shortcomings that require further examination.—
Mark Pittman,
Forbes.com,
3 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 19 Apr. 2025.
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