[{"word":"merits","phonetic":"/ˈmɛɹ.ɪts/","phonetics":[{"text":"/ˈmɛɹ.ɪts/","audio":"https://api.dictionaryapi.dev/media/pronunciations/en/merits-us.mp3","sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2707559","license":{"name":"BY-SA 3.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0"}}],"meanings":[{"partOfSpeech":"noun","definitions":[{"definition":"A claim to commendation or a reward.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[]},{"definition":"A mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":["demerit"],"example":"For her good performance in the examination, her teacher gave her ten merits."},{"definition":"Something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward.","synonyms":["excellence","value","worth"],"antonyms":["demerit"],"example":"His reward for his merit was a check for $50."},{"definition":"The sum of all the good deeds that a person does which determines the quality of the person's next state of existence and contributes to the person's growth towards enlightenment.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[],"example":"to acquire or make merit"},{"definition":"Usually in the plural form the merits: the substantive rightness or wrongness of a legal argument, a lawsuit, etc., as opposed to technical matters such as the admissibility of evidence or points of legal procedure; (by extension) the overall good or bad quality, or rightness or wrongness, of some other thing.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[],"example":"Even though the plaintiff was ordered by the judge to pay some costs for not having followed the correct procedure, she won the case on the merits."},{"definition":"The quality or state of deserving retribution, whether reward or punishment.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[]}],"synonyms":["excellence","value","worth"],"antonyms":["demerit","demerit"]},{"partOfSpeech":"verb","definitions":[{"definition":"To deserve, to earn.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[],"example":"Her performance merited wild applause."},{"definition":"To be deserving or worthy.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[],"example":"They were punished as they merited."},{"definition":"To reward.","synonyms":[],"antonyms":[]}],"synonyms":[],"antonyms":[]}],"license":{"name":"CC BY-SA 3.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0"},"sourceUrls":["https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/merit","https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/merits"]}]