as in worthy
having sufficient worth or merit to receive one's honor, esteem, or reward
gifts donated to deserving children every Christmas
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in earning
to be or make worthy of (as a reward or punishment)
the team really deserved that victory after the way they played
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deserving
Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 June 2025
Best Revival of a Play Eureka Day Romeo + Juliet
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town
Yellow Face
Who Will Win
Eureka Day, a satire about a school board and vaccination, is timely, funny and deserving of this award.
—Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
PCMAG, 23 Feb. 2025
There are myriad factors for this season’s likely outcome and achievements in both camps that are deserving of acclaim; good signings, good coaching, good decisions at the right moment.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 16 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deserving
Adjective
Aligoté Incredibly versatile and deserving of more love, according to Dunn, this French find is also extremely food-friendly.
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 June 2025
Best Revival of a Play Eureka Day Romeo + Juliet
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town
Yellow Face
Who Will Win
Eureka Day, a satire about a school board and vaccination, is timely, funny and deserving of this award.
—Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
Verb
Still, the Lexar Professional Go With Hub provides an effective solution for iPhone videographers who want to record 4K ProRes video with high frame rates without swamping precious device memory, and is deserving of our highest recommendation.
—PCMAG, 23 Feb. 2025
There are myriad factors for this season’s likely outcome and achievements in both camps that are deserving of acclaim; good signings, good coaching, good decisions at the right moment.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 16 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deserving
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deserving
Adjective
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If your coffee maker’s seen better days, then this 12-cup drip model is a worthy upgrade.—
Melanie Fincher,
Southern Living,
11 July 2025
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Other contributions, many of which supported worthy causes, also lacked obvious connection to Hope Florida’s mission.—
Jeffrey Schweers,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 July 2025
Verb
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The governor’s plan would make pre-K free for families earning up to $100,000 a year, and $20 a day for those earning up to $150,000.—
Laura Tillman,
Hartford Courant,
31 Mar. 2025
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Two weeks later, Payne carried the Lancers to a championship in La Jolla’s Beach City Invitational, earning the tournament’s MVP for middles.—
Tim Meehan SD,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Awards are given for meritorious activities in accreditation, continuing education, educational innovation, preuniversity education, service to the IEEE EAB, employee professional development, and related achievements that advance the practice of engineering and of engineering education.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
17 Dec. 2020
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Its Lifetime Achievement and other meritorious award recipients will be named later.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft at Cyberguy.com/IdentityTheft 10.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
6 July 2025
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My hope is that in the next year or two the Heat can open up the roster and have the dollars to get one or two really good players to complement Bam and Tyler Herro and hopefully Kel’el Ware. – Joel, Fort Lauderdale.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
6 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deserving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deserving. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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