meritorious
meritorious Lexical Profile
meritorious Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Deserving of reward, honor, or high praise; having great merit.
"The retired professor received an honorary medal in recognition of her forty years of meritorious service to the university."
Possessing sufficient legal validity or factual foundation to warrant a favorable judgment (of a legal claim, defense, or argument).
"The appellate court agreed to set aside the default judgment after the defendant presented a meritorious defense backed by clear financial records."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'meritorious' (deserving of praise or reward) with 'meretricious' (superficially attractive or showy, but having no real value).
• Rhymes for meritorious
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Latin 'meritorius' (initially meaning 'earning money' or 'profitable', and in Late Latin 'deserving well'), from 'meritum' ('merit, service, reward'), the neuter past participle of 'merere' ('to earn, deserve').