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
The biggest demerit on season 27 would be the White Locust twist.
—
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
After a long ride to Maryland in a honey vat, Garth is able to sneak Daisy back inside the school with only a demerit for smoking.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026
Class participation earned students a merit; minor infractions, like talking out of turn, led to a demerit.
—Steven F. Wilson, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2026
But in a movie that’s worth a meatier discussion, this prof (played by the auteur Eva Victor) gets a demerit for class planning.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
After a long ride to Maryland in a honey vat, Garth is able to sneak Daisy back inside the school with only a demerit for smoking.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026
Class participation earned students a merit; minor infractions, like talking out of turn, led to a demerit.
—Steven F. Wilson, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2026
But in a movie that’s worth a meatier discussion, this prof (played by the auteur Eva Victor) gets a demerit for class planning.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demerit
Noun
-
Common symptoms include headaches, fever, diarrhea, muscle weakness, tingling or numbness, neck stiffness or flu-like symptoms.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
-
Initial symptoms can include fever, headache, vomiting and weakness, according to the CDC.—
Emily Vetter,
USA Today,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
The company, which had an opportunity to include its responses in the exam report, denied fault in some cases and admitted fault in others.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
-
The researchers fed this millennium-long data into a computer model to determine how much stress has built up along the faults in that temporal window.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
18 June 2026
Noun
-
The movie’s gravest sin, though, might be its very existence.—
Jacob Stern,
The Atlantic,
17 June 2026
-
Do not allow the sins of the past to overwhelm, to drown the present.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Transformers’ great shortcoming, however, is their staggering computational cost.—
Rob Toews,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2026
-
Harvard economist David Deming says any test is bound to reflect the shortcomings and disparities embedded in the American education system.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
22 June 2026
Noun
-
Tordillos noted that the potential shortfall from the hotel tax failing would have been just a fraction of the threat posed by the November ballot measure.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
-
The outsize failings of the men in power demand a grand reimagining of the consequences of those failings, and Helen of Nowhere offers up, exhilaratingly and naughtily, a myth for the man who needs to be shuffled offstage one way or another.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2026
Noun
-
The growing calls for accountability come as a local animal rescue founder has filed a lawsuit against the City of San Jose, alleging serious deficiencies in shelter operations.—
Maddie White,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
-
Iron and vitamin D deficiencies can both cause fatigue, but iron deficiency tends to have a more direct and noticeable effect on energy, especially in women with heavy periods.—
Sara Hoffman,
Verywell Health,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demerit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demerit. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
