to deserve better
38
3.4
- phrasal verb
:
merecer algo mejor
- You deserve better than this treatment at your job.
They will frequently say I don't deserve this or I deserve better.
- They will frequently say I don't deserve this or I deserve better.
- Or in the worst cases, you tell yourself, maybe I don't deserve better.
- Like, really consciously say I deserve better.
- My definition of self love is that it's a balance between accepting yourself as you are and knowing you deserve better and then working towards it.
- I can still talk, you know, I can still do what I love, you know, and my kids deserve better.
- All right, like closure is a beautiful thing to have, but sometimes the best closure is just accepting you deserve better.
- But I've been so faithful for my part, surely I deserve better than this.
Examples
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Jerry Bridges is a class act and deserves better treatment than he has received.
Blog text (6) -
You deserve better than that.
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Well, your dad thinks you deserve better than me.
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This was my fault, and these people deserve better.
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I think I deserve better than that.
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Well, I think you deserve better.
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But I do think that we deserve better healthcare.
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But those who serve in uniform and the public they protect deserve better than this.
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You guys have had it so badly for so long, and you deserve better.
Blog text (13) -
The Windrush generation have served this country and deserve better than this.
Synonyms
41
3.9
To deserve praise or a reward
How Well Treated
1
5.0
38
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'deserve' (to be worthy of or earn) with 'better' (something of improved quality); a B1 learner who knows both words can infer that someone is worthy of something more favorable than they currently have. This compositional comparative pattern is regular in English and common across languages, so the expression is immediately understandable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Deserve better comes from the simple idea of earning a fair reward. Imagine someone who worked hard but gets little; deserve means they have earned something and better means a nicer or more fair thing, so the phrase says a person is 'worthy of more' than they have now.