meritorious
adjective
mer·i·to·ri·ous ˌmer-ə-ˈtȯr-ē-əs 
: deserving of honor or esteem
honored for her meritorious service to the company
meritoriously adverb
meritoriousness noun
Did you know?
People who demonstrate meritorious behavior certainly "earn" our respect, and you can use that fact to remember that meritorious comes from the Latin verb merēre, which means "to earn." Nowadays, the rewards earned for meritorious acts are likely to be of an immaterial nature: gratitude, admiration, praise, etc. But that wasn't always so. The history of meritorious recalls a reward more concrete in nature: money. In Latin, meritorious literally means "bringing in money."
Synonyms
- admirable
- applaudable
- commendable
- creditable
- estimable
- laudable
- praiseworthy
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
She was given an award for meritorious service. worked all night with meritorious determination to get the project done on time
Recent Examples on the Web After graduating from Glastonbury High School, Jacoby went on to a meritorious career at Wesleyan, winning the conference rookie of the year in 2018 and helping the Cardinals win the Division III national championship at Gillette Stadium. 
Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 May 2022 The White House Correspondents’ Association board will now award the Dunnigan-Payne Prize for Lifetime Career Achievement on an occasional basis to recognize meritorious service throughout an individual’s career as a White House correspondent. Melissa Noel, Essence, 2 May 2022 These, according to the program statement, are meritorious awards meant to not only reward those in the BOP who go above and beyond in their role, but also provide incentives and morale boosters for the staff. Walter Pavlo, Forbes, 3 May 2022 The proportion of these filings that the NLRB deemed meritorious did not change during this period. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 20 Apr. 2022 HiQ has therefore raised serious questions about whether LinkedIn may invoke the CFAA to preempt hiQ's possibly meritorious tortious interference claim. Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 19 Apr. 2022 The meritorious program comes most alive through participant stories and footage of the teams scrambling to build and test their robots. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2022 Teachers Lauren Haman of Maine South and Kelly Voigt of Maine West earned meritorious service recognition in the Early Career Educator category. Jennifer Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 5 Mar. 2022 She was recognized for her exceptionally meritorious service to our nation and duty of great responsibility. Laura Johnston, cleveland, 10 Mar. 2022 See More
Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 May 2022 The White House Correspondents’ Association board will now award the Dunnigan-Payne Prize for Lifetime Career Achievement on an occasional basis to recognize meritorious service throughout an individual’s career as a White House correspondent. Melissa Noel, Essence, 2 May 2022 These, according to the program statement, are meritorious awards meant to not only reward those in the BOP who go above and beyond in their role, but also provide incentives and morale boosters for the staff. Walter Pavlo, Forbes, 3 May 2022 The proportion of these filings that the NLRB deemed meritorious did not change during this period. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 20 Apr. 2022 HiQ has therefore raised serious questions about whether LinkedIn may invoke the CFAA to preempt hiQ's possibly meritorious tortious interference claim. Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 19 Apr. 2022 The meritorious program comes most alive through participant stories and footage of the teams scrambling to build and test their robots. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2022 Teachers Lauren Haman of Maine South and Kelly Voigt of Maine West earned meritorious service recognition in the Early Career Educator category. Jennifer Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 5 Mar. 2022 She was recognized for her exceptionally meritorious service to our nation and duty of great responsibility. Laura Johnston, cleveland, 10 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
meritorious
adjective
mer·i·to·ri·ous ˌmer-ə-ˈtȯr-ē-əs
: deserving reward or honor : praiseworthy
meritorious conduct
Legal Definition
meritorious
adjective
mer·i·to·ri·ous ˌmer-ə-ˈtōr-ē-əs
1
: deserving of honor or esteem
2
: having merit
a meritorious claim
meritorious
adjective
1
as in worthy
deserving of high regard or great approval worked all night with meritorious determination to get the project done on time Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- worthy
- praiseworthy
- admirable
- laudable
- honorable
- excellent
- commendable
- creditable
- distinguished
- noble
- outstanding
- impressive
- deserving
- estimable
- applaudable
- awesome
- valuable
- distinctive
- noteworthy
- good
- moral
- noticeable
- respectable
- satisfying
- invaluable
- precious
- pleasing
- ethical
- reputable
- delightful
- enjoyable
- principled
- redoubtable
- heady
- priceless
- high-minded
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- reprehensible
- discreditable
- unworthy
- censurable
- worthless
- contemptible
- pitiable
- deplorable
- detestable
- pitiful
- vile
- despicable
- wretched
- lousy
- notorious
- base
- dirty
- dishonorable
- illaudable
- sorry
- infamous
- shameful
- nasty
- unethical
- disgraceful
- scurvy
- ignominious
- scandalous
- sordid
- unsavory
- scabby
- low
- unlikable
- shady
- mean
- shocking
- scummy
- seamy
- disreputable
2
as in deserving
having sufficient worth or merit to receive one's honor, esteem, or reward all agreed that the most meritorious science project had won the competition Synonyms & Similar Words
- worthy
- deserving
- good
- special
- admirable
- praiseworthy
- commendable
- laudable
- creditable
- exceptional
- cherished
- excellent
- invaluable
- primary
- prized
- priceless
- choice
- fancy
- prime
- treasured
- high-grade
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- worthless
- valueless
- undeserving
- inferior
- bad
- substandard
- cheap
- defective
- imperfect
- base
- unsatisfactory
- insufficient
- flawed
- inadequate
- deficient
- second-rate
- no-good
- unacceptable