Definition of DESERVE

Choose the Right Synonym for deserve

deserve, merit, and earn mean to be worthy of something. deserve is used when a person should rightly receive something good or bad because of his or her actions or character. A hard worker deserves to be rewarded. merit is used when someone or something is especially worthy of reward, punishment, or consideration. These students merit special praise. earn is used when a person has spent time and effort and gets what he or she deserves. You've earned a long vacation.

Examples of deserve in a Sentence

the team really deserved that victory after the way they played

Recent Examples on the Web

The reporter had argued that CNN deserved to get a question because the president had criticized the network in response to a previous question from NBC News Kristen Welker reporter. — Jeremy Barr, The Hollywood Reporter, "Trump in U.K.: "I Don't Take Questions From CNN"," 13 July 2018 Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic was adamant that his side fully deserved their 2-1 win over England in Wednesday's FIFA World Cup semi-final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. — SI.com, "'We Nullified Them': Croatia Head Coach Hails Semi-Final Victory Over England as 'Our Best Game'," 12 July 2018 Lane and Lewis both agree that the rescuers in Thailand deserve enormous praise. — Bo Emerson, ajc, "Cave rescuers in Southeast watch their Thai colleagues with admiration," 10 July 2018 For now, Republican challengers in a handful of heartland states argue that President Trump deserves room to negotiate in his bid to yield better deals for American businesses and consumers alike. — Tory Newmyer, Washington Post, "The Finance 202: Republican candidates in key Senate races struggle with Trump tariffs," 5 July 2018 The judge also wrote that Piercy deserved a new hearing to reconsider Karsten's decision to withhold his pay and benefits. — Laura Bauer And Max Londberg, kansascity, "Trooper in Lake of the Ozarks drowning death should not have been fired, judge rules," 27 June 2018 She was widely known as someone who deserved clemency. — Abby Gardner, Glamour, "How a Former Glamour College Woman of the Year Helped Break the Alice Johnson Story," 13 July 2018 Ellen’s preferred form of creative expression is witchcraft, a practice that certainly deserves a measure of suspicion. — Katherine Fusco, The Atlantic, "Hereditary and the Monstrousness of Creative Moms," 11 July 2018 In the first episode alone, the show portrayed or alluded to substance abuse, addiction, self-harm, emotional abuse, illness, depression, trauma, murder, and death—all topics that deserve to be treated sensitively. — Emily Wang, SELF, "Every Episode of HBO's 'Sharp Objects' Will End With a PSA About Substance Abuse and Self-Harm," 11 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deserve.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.