merited

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of merit.

   The proposal merited serious consideration from the board.

   Their long dedication merited the recognition that finally came.

   Note

   One regular -ed form does every past job here: the proposal merited attention, it has merited attention, the attention was merited. It usually takes a direct object, though it can also stand alone in the sense of being worthy. An obsolete and rare use made merit mean "to reward," so in older prose merited can occasionally mean rewarded rather than deserved.

2. 2
   adjective

   Deserved on the basis of one's actions or qualities.

   The committee considered the promotion fully merited.

   Critics called the award a merited recognition of her talent.

   Similardeserved, warranted, justified, earned

   Oppositeundeserved, unwarranted, unjustified

   Note

   Here the participle has hardened into an adjective, most at home before a noun: a merited reward, a merited outcome, a merited win. It belongs to the language of verdicts, the judgment passed on a result once it is in. A quick test separates it from the verb form: if an object follows (merited serious consideration), it is still the verb; if it describes a noun, it is the adjective.

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