as in justified
being what is called for by accepted standards of right and wrong
a well deserved promotion for a hard worker
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Recent Examples of deserved
Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Given how nonplussed so many people were by his Thomas Pynchon adaptation, you’d be forgiven for thinking Anderson snatched a deserved nomination from Gillian Flynn for her Gone Girl adaptation.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2025
Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
Don’t call him a scapegoat; the firing is deserved.
—Miami Herald, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deserved
Adjective
Jake Sullivan, who was former President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, also said Trump deserved credit for the peace deal.
—Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Given how nonplussed so many people were by his Thomas Pynchon adaptation, you’d be forgiven for thinking Anderson snatched a deserved nomination from Gillian Flynn for her Gone Girl adaptation.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2025
Verb
For his final week, Fortun and her partner decided Manolo deserved to be surrounded by love.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
Don’t call him a scapegoat; the firing is deserved.
—Miami Herald, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deserved
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deserved
Adjective
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The justified fear was that without a conference affiliation with the two biggest schools in the Big 12 would be catastrophic to Texas Tech University, its football team, the entire athletic department, and to Lubbock itself.—
Mac Engel
November 8,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Nov. 2025
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Majumdar lavishes her characters with careful attention, and so the reader comes to regard their most troubling actions as justified, if not inevitable.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Tim Stützle’s goal, his second of the day, earned Ottawa the extra point in the standings.—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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Binder earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University in 2017 and a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from San Jose State University in 2002.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deserved.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deserved. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.
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