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Glite Dictionary
unmeritorious

unmeritorious

9.3
Does not deserve praise or reward
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˌmɛrɪˈtɔriəs/
translation icon : sin mérito
  • His actions were unmeritorious and did not deserve recognition.

Examples

  • She ignored the unmeritorious claims made by her competitors.

  • They were quick to defend him from unmeritorious criticism.

  • The judge dismissed the unmeritorious lawsuit before it went to trial.

  • The committee found her proposal to be unmeritorious.

  • The committee dismissed the proposal, declaring it unmeritorious and lacking any real value.

  • She received criticism for her unmeritorious actions that failed to benefit the team.

  • His unmeritorious behavior during the project led to his team missing the deadline.

Synonyms

nonmeritorious
vsunmeritorious
  • Formal
7.8

Not based on good reasons or evidence and not worth attention

is identical in meaning but uses slightly different wording

Antonyms

worthy
530 2.8

Deserving respect because of good or honest qualities

meritorious
9 7.5

Worthy of praise or reward for good work

How Meritorious

meritorious
9 7.5
praiseworthy
5 4.5
unmeritorious
9.3
worthless
298 3.0

Surface Forms

unmeritorious positive

Morphology

unmeritorious = meritorious (transparent) = un + meritorious

The adjective is formed by simple negation of 'meritorious' with productive English prefix 'un-', giving a direct negative meaning.

Etymology

Unmeritorious breaks into un- ('not') and merit ('deserve praise'). So unmeritorious means 'not deserving praise or reward', which is why we use it for something that lacks merit.