merited

1 4.5

Earned because of actions or good qualities

adjective
/ˈmɛrɪtɪd/

: merecido

Her hard work and dedication merited a promotion at her job.

And I should put this too, not all desire for recognition is rational or reasonable or merited.

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Examples

So the problem with that myth, Lex, is that it gets people thinking, well, if they're already rich, they must have merited it by definition.
My leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all merited a second term.
And, and definitely the critique is merited, but young people have never been more empowered, educated, connected then they are now.

Lex Fridman
You know, what Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda did merited a military response in Afghanistan.
The scholarship was given to students whose achievements truly merited recognition.
They believed that their commitment to community service merited the award.

Synonyms

earned

vsmerited

68 2.2

Gained by someone's own hard work or skill

highlights being justified by actions or qualities rather than only the result

deserved

vsmerited

61 3.4

Earned fairly because of what someone did

emphasizes being justified by actions or qualities rather than just gain

Antonyms

undeserved

11 4.2

A reward or punishment someone does not earn and that is not fair

unmerited

1 7.6

Not deserved because there is no good reason

How Deserved

earned

68 2.2

merited

1 4.5

unearned

11 5.8

Surface Forms

merited positive

Morphology

merited = merit (transparent) = merit + ed

The form and meaning are a standard past-participle/adjectival formation from the verb 'merit' using '-ed'.

Etymology

Merited comes from the old root merit, which means 'to earn' or 'deserve'. Think of a merit badge you earn for good work, so something merited is 'deserved' because you have earned it.