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
To discourage the consumption of demerit goods, governments often place heavy taxes on them and impose minimum age regulations on their use.
—
Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
The MacBook Neo’s most significant demerit is its connectivity suite.
—Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
That’s a demerit for journalists covering the Games, many of whom typically venture from sport to sport and venue to venue to report on the event’s full scope.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 16 Feb. 2026
By bringing their operations together, the two rail majors will provide crucial information to other prominent railroad companies about the merits and demerits of mergers, along with how best to combine in the future.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
The MacBook Neo’s most significant demerit is its connectivity suite.
—Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
That’s a demerit for journalists covering the Games, many of whom typically venture from sport to sport and venue to venue to report on the event’s full scope.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 16 Feb. 2026
By bringing their operations together, the two rail majors will provide crucial information to other prominent railroad companies about the merits and demerits of mergers, along with how best to combine in the future.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demerit
Noun
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Some analysts have raised alarms about how weakness in a key node of the web, like OpenAI, could set off a chain reaction that could threaten the entire AI ecosystem.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
28 Apr. 2026
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Prior to his senior year, Maloney worked extremely hard to correct his weakness.—
Walter Villa,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Additional information about the crash, including the directions both cars were traveling, which driver was at fault and whether drugs, alcohol or speeding are believed to be factors, was not immediately available Thursday.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
30 Apr. 2026
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And later, when water levels dropped, tectonics shifted, reefs grew, and the ice age locked away the planet’s water supplies into glaciers, and new faults thrust the land skyward to dry?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Song of the Goddess, 1992, which Pau made while living in New York, is a tribute to the secret real-life romance between two female Cantonese opera stars, Yam Kim-fai and Pak Suet-sin.—
Pauline J. Yao,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
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What’s a worse sin/crime — declaring an obvious murder a suicide to protect a perverted crony?—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But the attempt has revealed shortcomings and vulnerabilities that were waiting to be exploited—and can no longer be ignored.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
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The third-year quarterback masked a number of the team’s roster deficiencies in his rookie season, but the combination of injuries, a tougher schedule and roster shortcomings derailed his second season.—
Nicki Jhabvala,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Dombrowski, like Breslow, is more responsible than his manager for the failings of his club, which ended its 10-game losing streak on Saturday night but still is worse off than the Red Sox at 9-18.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Now it had been relegated again to a leftist cause, a symbol of anti-imperial resistance for some and the face of communism’s failings for others.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Common vitamin D deficiency symptoms include fatigue, muscle weakness, bone pain, frequent illness and low mood.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
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Correcting a deficiency is one of the lowest-effort, highest-return moves in everyday health optimization — and the research behind it keeps getting more compelling.—
Allison Palmer,
Sacbee.com,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demerit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demerit. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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