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meritocrat

1 8.1

A person who gains position because of talent, not wealth or family

noun
/ˈmɛrɪtəˌkræt/

: meritócrata

You have kings who want to be meritocrats, barons who want to be academics, merchants who suddenly have the power to finance the newfound vanities of their rulers, and lawyers with the skill to elaborate on them.

Examples

In a meritocratic society, individuals rise to power based on their achievements and talents.
Meritocrats admit that market-based distribution of rewards is just to the extent to which we can reduce endemic socioeconomic disadvantages and bring everyone to comparable starting points.

Academic text (2011)
As a successful meritocrat, she was promoted to manager because of her skills, not her background.
The company values meritocrats who contribute to its success through hard work and innovation.

Antonyms

nepotist

1 7.7

A person who gives jobs to family members or close friends

How Meritocratic

self-made

25 4.1

meritocrat

1 8.1

professional

∞ 3.4

well-connected

27 5.5

scion

Literature

6 8.4

Surface Forms

meritocrat singular

meritocrats plural

Morphology

meritocrat = merit (transparent) = merit + ocrat

Formation from 'merit' + the combining element '-ocrat' yields 'a person characterized by rule or status from merit', a clear derivation following English patterns.

Etymology

Meritocrat comes from merit ('deserving' or 'earned') and -crat ('rule' or 'power'), the same ending you see in democrat. So a meritocrat is a person who gets power or status because they 'earned' it with ability and talent.