as in weakness
a defect in character
my keyboarding has the advantage of speed but the demerit of inaccuracy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demerit
But in a movie that’s worth a meatier discussion, this prof (played by the auteur Eva Victor) gets a demerit for class planning.
—
Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Negative externalities resulting from the consumption of demerit goods can be seen in the harmful effects of secondhand smoke on others.
—Bylaura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
The MacBook Neo’s most significant demerit is its connectivity suite.
—Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
That’s a demerit for journalists covering the Games, many of whom typically venture from sport to sport and venue to venue to report on the event’s full scope.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Negative externalities resulting from the consumption of demerit goods can be seen in the harmful effects of secondhand smoke on others.
—Bylaura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
The MacBook Neo’s most significant demerit is its connectivity suite.
—Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 10 Mar. 2026
That’s a demerit for journalists covering the Games, many of whom typically venture from sport to sport and venue to venue to report on the event’s full scope.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demerit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demerit
Noun
-
Rippling was also built with a stronger emphasis on operational infrastructure and compliance, according to Conrad, who has said that one of the weaknesses at Zenefits was that a lot was done manually behind the scenes.—
Ellen Sheng,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
-
Brunson’s defense and the lack of rim protection from Towns remain weaknesses, but nobody has come close to exploiting them so far.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
New research points to a mechanism within the Cascadia fault that could be accelerating a break.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
14 May 2026
-
That opacity serves a clear purpose, but Martelli is enamored by it to a fault, and Inés’ refusal to question the people around her or make any significant decisions beyond keeping her mouth shut eventually proves more trying than helpful.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
Her chief lieutenants in this operation are Bronco (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Sid (Henry Cavill), who specialize in intimidation, surveillance, bribery, and other assorted sins.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
-
First-time filmmakers can usually be forgiven some of these sins, only most viewers might not realize that this is Luna’s fifth go in the director’s chair.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
Duren has been aware of his shortcomings over the last two seasons.—
Hunter Patterson,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
-
However, the system had its shortcomings.—
David Szondy
May 17,
New Atlas,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
More bailouts would paper over the failings of federal regulation.—
Marc Scribner,
Washington Post,
13 May 2026
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Equally important is practicing self-care and self-compassion, which, Broder says, means treating yourself with kindness instead of judgment and recognizing that your patterns developed as a way to cope, not as a personal failing.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
For most people eating a typical diet, sodium deficiency is very rare.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
-
This season, however, due to a number of factors including changing personnel, injuries, underperformance from key players and tactical deficiencies, Liverpool have become a soft touch and easy to play against.—
Colin Millar,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demerit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demerit. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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