Standard Lemma guide

demerit

noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /dɪˈmɛɹɪt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛɹɪt
  • CMU ARPABET: D IY0 M EH1 R AH0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A quality of being inadequate; a disadvantage, a fault.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A mark given for bad conduct to a person attending an educational institution or serving in the army.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

That which one merits or deserves, either of good or ill; desert.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To deserve.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To depreciate or cry down.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • they discussed the merits and demerits of her novel
  • he knew his own faults much better than she did

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fault

Antonyms: merit

Broader terms: worth

7

noun

Meaning 7

a mark against a person for misconduct or failure; usually given in school or armed forces

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • ten demerits and he loses his privileges

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mark, stigma, brand, stain

History

Etymology

From Middle English demerit, demerite, from Old French desmerite (modern French démérite) and its etymon Latin dēmeritum. By surface analysis, de- + merit.

From Latin dēmerit-, the past partipicial stem of dēmereō. By surface analysis, de- + merit.

Across languages

Translations

40 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: недостатък (nedostatǎk) — quality of being inadequate
  • Catalan: demèrit — quality of being inadequate
  • Chinese Mandarin: 短處 /短处 (duǎnchu) — quality of being inadequate
  • Chinese Mandarin: 缺點 /缺点 (quēdiǎn) — quality of being inadequate
  • Czech: nedostatek — quality of being inadequate
  • Czech: chyba — quality of being inadequate
  • Czech: slabina — quality of being inadequate
  • Dutch: tekortkoming — quality of being inadequate
  • Finnish: haitta — quality of being inadequate
  • Finnish: puute — quality of being inadequate
  • Finnish: puutteellisuus — quality of being inadequate
  • French: démérite — quality of being inadequate
  • German: Nachteil — quality of being inadequate
  • Italian: demerito — quality of being inadequate
  • Japanese: デメリット (demeritto) — quality of being inadequate
  • Japanese: 欠点 (ketten) — quality of being inadequate
  • Japanese: 短所 (tansho) — quality of being inadequate
  • Portuguese: demérito — quality of being inadequate
  • Russian: недоста́ток (nedostátok) — quality of being inadequate
  • Russian: изъя́н (izʺján) — quality of being inadequate
  • Spanish: demérito — quality of being inadequate
  • Swedish: nackdel — quality of being inadequate
  • Swedish: brist — quality of being inadequate
  • Chinese: 记过 (jìguò) — mark for bad conduct
  • Czech: poznámka — mark for bad conduct
  • Czech: napomenutí — mark for bad conduct
  • Esperanto: riproĉo — mark for bad conduct
  • Finnish: huomautus — mark for bad conduct
  • French: blâme — mark for bad conduct
  • French: démérite — mark for bad conduct
  • German: Minuspunkt — mark for bad conduct
  • Greek: επιτίμηση (epitímisi) — mark for bad conduct
  • Greek: κατάκριση (katákrisi) — mark for bad conduct
  • Greek: μομφή (momfí) — mark for bad conduct
  • Japanese: 咎め (togame) — mark for bad conduct
  • Russian: взыска́ние (vzyskánije) — mark for bad conduct
  • Russian: вы́говор (výgovor) — mark for bad conduct
  • Spanish: descalificación — mark for bad conduct
  • Spanish: demérito — mark for bad conduct
  • Spanish: sanción — mark for bad conduct