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
Scores are based on a demerit system.
—
Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Jan. 2026
Sunday staged the offense’s damning demerit.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
The merit and demerits of the notes above should be pretty obvious.
—Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Dec. 2025
Tickets for inattentive driving also result in four demerit points on your record.
—Jacob Wilt, jsonline.com, 26 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Jan. 2026
Sunday staged the offense’s damning demerit.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
The merit and demerits of the notes above should be pretty obvious.
—Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Dec. 2025
Tickets for inattentive driving also result in four demerit points on your record.
—Jacob Wilt, jsonline.com, 26 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demerit
Noun
-
Together, the cases highlight weaknesses in an industry that has long struggled to balance nutritional innovation with safety.—
Jillian Deutsch,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
-
In signing Díaz and Tucker, Los Angeles addressed two areas of weakness by throwing money at the top option on the market.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In the shop, Mu Hee asks why Uncle and Aunt hate her so much despite it not being her fault.—
Hannah Abraham,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Williams teams up with Trevor Slattery (Kingsley), an actor (and former terrorist, although that part wasn’t his fault) trying to make a comeback but who has an agenda of his own.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
What damages a human being is sin.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Natan Sharanksy sat in prison in 1983 for the sin of requesting to emigrate from the Soviet Union to Israel.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Painfully aware of his shortcomings, Wallace would have been horrified by his own subsequent beatification.—
Hermione Hoby,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
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Hollyland says the Lyra directly addresses these shortcomings with three major technological breakthroughs that set a new benchmark for high-performance webcams at a sensible price point.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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This is something Director Smith said many of the failings of the First Step Act was because of the prior administrations misallocation of funding under the program.—
Walter Pavlo,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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This is not a failing of the principles of liberalism, however, but a failure of those entrusted to act in its name.—
Philip Mullins,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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However, the creditor cannot seek a deficiency judgment if the asset sale does not fully satisfy the debt ― this is because the debt has been discharged.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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People who spend a lot of time indoors or have dark skin are at risk for vitamin D deficiency.—
Mark Stibich,
Verywell Health,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demerit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demerit. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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