deserving

noun

de·serv·ing | \ -ˈzər-viŋ

Definition of deserving

(Entry 1 of 2)

: desert, merit reward the proud according to their deservings— Charles Kingsley

deserving

adjective

Definition of deserving (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : having good qualities that deserve praise, support, etc. : meritorious, worthy rewarding deserving workers scholarships for deserving students

2 : appropriately having or being given something specified —used with of a proposal deserving of support [=a proposal that deserves support]a criminal deserving of punishment

Other Words from deserving Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about deserving

Keep scrolling for more

Synonyms & Antonyms for deserving

Synonyms: Adjective

good, meritorious, worthy

Antonyms: Adjective

no-good, undeserving, valueless, worthless

Examples of deserving in a Sentence

Adjective

He's a very deserving young man. The church provides aid to deserving families.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Systemically, white women are seen as deserving of protection, whereas Black women are not. — Alexis Jones, Marie Claire, "R. Kelly Docuseries Reminds Us That Not All Stories of Sexual Assault Are Treated Equally," 11 Jan. 2019 Having individual agency is strongly connected to the idea of a meritocracy, where the deserving are granted rewards. — Jennifer Victor, Vox, "What good are elections, anyway?," 30 Oct. 2018 Although there is no doubt that both leading ladies are plenty deserving of the Emmy, many people were disappointed that Sandra didn't win. — Jennifer Aldrich, Country Living, "Sandra Oh Didn't Win an Emmy Award Last Night and People Are Furious," 18 Sep. 2018 The Massachusetts bill signing had all the pomp deserving of a major piece of legislation. — Joshua Miller, BostonGlobe.com, "One thing missing from the ‘grand bargain’ bill signing? The grand bargainers," 28 June 2018 Whatever Bowen has done, and whatever infractions may have been committed during his recruitment, college basketball players are as deserving of due process as any other citizen. — Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "NCAA makes Brian Bowen seem a victim | Tim Sullivan," 30 May 2018 Supporters of Trump's efforts to crack down on would-be refugees agree that some are deserving of American goodwill. — Alan Gomez, USA TODAY, "Fewer Americans believe U.S. should accept refugees," 24 May 2018 His fever was now a hundred and three, and he was badly dehydrated, so Brother Infirmarian, against his instincts and principles, admitted him as a patient deserving of antibiotics and his devoted attention. — John L’heureux, The New Yorker, "The Long Black Line," 14 May 2018 But politicians talk of immigrants as a monolithic group deserving of a single, partisan response. — Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, "Britain taps the son of a Pakistani bus driver to shape immigration policy," 1 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Over the last week, national analysts have proposed numerous All-Star rosters, full of supposedly deserving players, with Harper omitted. — Bill Shaikin, latimes.com, "Kenley Jansen has been an effective All-Star campaign manager," 7 July 2018 Before the real action got going inside the Shrine Auditorium, the red carpet was packed with plenty of show-stopping hair and makeup moments deserving of their own award. — Jenna Rennert, Vogue, "The Best Beauty Looks From the 2019 SAG Awards," 28 Jan. 2019 Younger and prettier is always better and more deserving of love, ABC seems to whisper. — Courtney Lund, Marie Claire, "ABC's 'The Bachelor' Has Never Felt More Openly Ageist Than Right Now," 23 Jan. 2019 These are all gray-area topics deserving of nuanced discussions. — Jason Del Rey, Recode, "Amazon is now worth $1 trillion. What comes next is even more scrutiny of its power.," 4 Sep. 2018 There's a long list of deserving candidates — everyone from former champions to engine builders, owners to crew chiefs — but only four others will join Gordon in the Class of 2019. — Brendan Marks, charlotteobserver, "Jeff Gordon's in, of course. But who should join him in 2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame class? | Charlotte Observer," 22 May 2018 And, finally, as with any Oscar race, fans felt that some films were more deserving of award than others. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "14 Oscar Memes That Deserve Their Own Award," 25 Feb. 2019 Others have raised huge sums for a deserving someone, then made off with the donations. — Elizabeth Llorente, Fox News, "Sometimes GoFundMe goes right, sometimes very wrong ... and sometimes, way off the rails," 13 Sep. 2018 The fan vote isn't perfect, and the players and managers always snub a deserving player. — Jeff Wilson, star-telegram, "MLB All-Star voting opens Friday. Rangers better call in the Russians," 31 May 2018

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