deserving

noun de·serv·ing \ -ˈzər-viŋ \

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Definition of deserving

: desert, merit

reward the proud according to their deservings
—Charles Kingsley

Recent Examples of deserving from the Web

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
Will these lab-grown constructs achieve any sort of consciousness deserving of protection?

— diana gitig, Ars Technica, "Human brain cells can make complex structures in a dish—is this a problem?," 28 Apr. 2018
While this year’s tackle class is mediocre, with two NFL scouts telling the Free Press there isn’t a tackle deserving of a first-round grade, the interior line crop is both deep and diverse.

— dave birkett, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Lions could take advantage of deep interior OL class in NFL draft," 22 Apr. 2018
The Harts’ story is an extreme example but an example, nonetheless, of yet another way our society treats black children as less deserving of protection.

— stacey patton, Washington Post, "We can’t ignore race in the tragic story of Devonte Hart and his white adoptive mothers," 6 Apr. 2018
That, Spurs fans, would have been a disaster deserving of a full-scale panic.

— mike finger, San Antonio Express-News, "Spurs’ best deal might be one they didn’t make," 7 Apr. 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.

First Known Use of deserving

14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

deserving

adjective

Definition of deserving

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

—

deservingly

adverb

—

deservingness

noun

See deserving defined for English-language learners

See deserving defined for kids

Examples of deserving in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of deserving from the Web

Last year, another study found that African American girls are perceived as less innocent and more deserving of punishment than white girls — and that this perception begins by 5 years old.

— fatima varner, star-telegram, "This Father’s Day, let's resolve to speak honestly with our children about race," 17 June 2018
Christian belief in the resurrection is associated with the idea of Limbo: a place for those who are stained with original sin, and thus cannot go to heaven, but who are otherwise deserving and shouldn’t be consigned to hell.

— john hooper, WSJ, "How a $30 Million Renaissance Masterpiece Was Found," 21 May 2018
Technology has made a huge difference, but the Post Office's new stamp is a small but deserving honor for those pilots brave enough to fly into darkness—even without a bonfire to light the way.

— eric tegler, Popular Mechanics, "'A Suicide Club': How WWI Pilots Pioneered the Age of Airmail," 9 May 2018
This marks seven consecutive years that the Lawrenceville-Duluth Alumni Chapter and Foundation of Kappa Alpha Psi will award scholarships to deserving African American high school seniors in Gwinnett County.

— news staff, ajc, "Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity hosts scholarship luncheon," 4 May 2018
The veil is stitched from lies that to be gay is wrong, that to be gay is to be promiscuous, that to be promiscuous is to be deserving of sickness and death.

— minda honey, Longreads, "The Power in Knowing: Black Women, HIV, and the Realities of Safe Sex," 19 June 2018
But his faultless handling and excellent shot-stopping was deserving of the accolade.

— Washington Post, "Messi misses penalty, Iceland holds Argentina to 1-1 draw," 16 June 2018
But his faultless handling and excellent shot-stopping was deserving of the accolade.

— graham dunbar, chicagotribune.com, "Messi misses penalty as Iceland hold Argentina to draw," 16 June 2018
But which winless drivers are most deserving of one of those victories?

— brendan marks, charlotteobserver, "This NASCAR season is growing stale. A win from these 4 overdue drivers would help.," 13 June 2018