as in weakness
a defect in character
my keyboarding has the advantage of speed but the demerit of inaccuracy
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Recent Examples of demerit
Fort Worth uses a demerit system, with zero being a perfect score.
—
Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2025
India’s wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant received a demerit point from the ICC after the first Test at Headingley for throwing the ball on the floor in frustration after umpire Paul Reiffel had inspected it and turned down his request for a replacement.
—James Wallace, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
Food and diet researchers are also criticizing the direction the National Institutes of Health are going in possibly stifling debate regarding the merits and demerits of different foods.
—Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
Extra demerits for making such statements at a music festival.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2025
India’s wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant received a demerit point from the ICC after the first Test at Headingley for throwing the ball on the floor in frustration after umpire Paul Reiffel had inspected it and turned down his request for a replacement.
—James Wallace, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
Food and diet researchers are also criticizing the direction the National Institutes of Health are going in possibly stifling debate regarding the merits and demerits of different foods.
—Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
Extra demerits for making such statements at a music festival.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demerit
Noun
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However, the effects on hiring may be blunted by persistent weakness in the labor market.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
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JPMorgan adds SharkNinja to the focus list JPM said investors should buy the weakness in the consumer products company.—
Michael Bloom,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The bank admitted fault in only 13 out of the 101 cases tracked by the organization, with the remaining 88 cases settled without admission of guilt.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025
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The most commonly believed false narrative was that the reliance on renewables was at fault.—
Julia Simon,
NPR,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In early Christian thinking, its connotations of languor and listlessness, within the spirit no less than the body, lent it the status of a sin—a turning aside from God for the sake of earthly sorrow.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
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Nadal believes clay-court tennis at night is something like a sin against the sport, but 2020 was the first year in which Court Philippe-Chatrier held a session that went past darkness.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The difference is that IMAX 70mm prints are created as optical blow-ups from the VistaVision negative — a difference that intellectually sounds like a shortcoming, but which had a positive effect on the movie’s overall emotional impact.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
7 Oct. 2025
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Now, Clippy’s former shortcomings are the exact reason for its resurgence.—
Alix Martichoux,
The Hill,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Hamilton, convinced that salvaging his fiscal reputation required him to air his personal failings, published a lengthy tract, baring all.—
Jane Kamensky,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
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However, whatever his scholarly failings, Thorkelín had at least been responsible for two transcripts of the poem, and, as the manuscript itself had continued to deteriorate, chiefly by flaking of the brittle margins, these were a valuable record of the original.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Sprinkle in Minerals Don't just toss in minerals at random, says Damrosch—only use when recommended by your soil test to correct deficiencies that have been identified.—
Miranda Crowell,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Oct. 2025
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For that reason, the vast majority of companies now employ human reviews and stand-alone testing tools or services to address generative AI’s deficiencies.—
Philipp Eisenhauer,
Harvard Business Review,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demerit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demerit. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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