meritorious
adjective
Did you know?
People who demonstrate meritorious behavior certainly "earn" our respect, and you can use that fact to remember that meritorious comes from the Latin verb merēre, which means "to earn." Nowadays, the rewards earned for meritorious acts are likely to be of an immaterial nature: gratitude, admiration, praise, etc. But that wasn't always so. The history of meritorious recalls a reward more concrete in nature: money. In Latin, meritorious literally means "bringing in money."
Synonyms
Examples of meritorious in a Sentence
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
This year's most meritorious splurges include some familiar (read: repeat-winner) names.
—Allure, 26 Sep. 2024
That such a protest song existed at all was in itself apparently meritorious.
—David Polansky, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 12 July 2024
It’s all made possible by its perfectly democratic and meritorious format.
—Kels Dayton, Hartford Courant, 15 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for meritorious 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'meritorious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near meritorious
Cite this Entry
“Meritorious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meritorious. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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meritorious
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meritorious
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