deserved

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of deserve.

   He deserved the praise he received from his colleagues.

   Their efforts deserved far more recognition than they got.

   Note

   Behind these forms stands a verb whose older meanings have mostly fallen away. In earlier English, deserve could mean to earn or win, to reward someone for service, or to serve or benefit a person. A deserved in an old text may therefore not mean "merited" at all. Today only the sense of being worthy survives, and it takes a direct object: he deserved the praise, they deserved recognition.

2. 2
   adjective

   Justly earned or merited as a fitting result of one's actions.

   The team enjoyed a deserved victory after months of training.

   Critics agreed the harsh review was entirely deserved.

   Similarmerited, earned, justified, warranted, well-earned

   Oppositeundeserved

   Note

   This adjective can be graded: something can be more deserved or most deserved. William Cooke Taylor praised Lord Morpeth for "a more deserved popularity" than any earlier Secretary for Ireland in 1846. It stands before a noun (a deserved win) or after be and perceived as. Its opposite is undeserved. The adjective grew out of the past forms of deserve, so a punishment that was deserved can be read either way.

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