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
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
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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The problem with that is that good teams — the winning franchises — build their teams inside-out by fortifying the offensive and defensive lines, which just happen to be the areas of weakness this season.—
Omar Kelly
November 7,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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Exports weren’t the only area that saw surprise weakness.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, when asked who is to blame, 58% of those surveyed said both Disney and Google are equally at fault, while 37% point the finger at Disney and 5% blame Google.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
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Some of them have not been his fault.—
Reice Shipley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The tragic death of the Sepulveda family patriarch calls his descendants back to Villa Sepulveda, a Spanish colonial manor in a coconut plantation; but a landslide traps the guests inside, transforming the funeral plans into a supernatural reckoning of sins.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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Once, there were two sweet kids who came of age in the evangelical purity culture of the 1990’s, a world in which being LGBTQ+ or accepting anyone who was gay was seen as a sin that could send you straight to hell.—
Kelly Foster Lundquist,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The carbon market has been beset by shortcomings and subject to accusations of greenwashing, however.—
Jeff Young,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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Chinese commentators acknowledged the shortcomings, stating that the test revealed the robots did not perform well in defensive situations.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The editor of the Pine Bluff Commercial earned second place for commentary in a contest organized by America's Newspapers for his coverage of the failings of a city tax initiative that promised civic and economic restoration.—
Grant Lancaster,
Arkansas Online,
7 Nov. 2025
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The new report only adds to a number of security failings exposed by the heist.—
Joseph Ataman,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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However, specific groups may be particularly vulnerable to deficiency, and the consequences can be significant.—
Heather Jones,
Verywell Health,
23 Oct. 2025
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That has allowed the Dodgers to hide their deficiencies in the bullpen – and ask less of their offense.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demerit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demerit. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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