Simple Definition of meritorious
: deserving honor or praise
Full Definition of meritorious
: deserving of honor or esteem
Examples of meritorious in a sentence
She was given an award for meritorious service.
<worked all night with meritorious determination to get the project done on time>
Did You Know?
People who demonstrate meritorious behavior certainly "earn" our respect, and you can use that fact to remember that "meritorious" ultimately traces to 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. The Latin word meritorius, an ancestor of the English "meritorious," literally means "bringing in money."
First Known Use of meritorious
MERITORIOUS Defined for Kids
Legal Definition of meritorious
1 : deserving of honor or esteem
2 : having merit <a meritorious claim>
Seen and Heard
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