Which to use
“merit” is a noun and “merited” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,267
- “merit” frequency rank
- #40,337
- “merited” frequency rank
- 46604
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | merit | merited |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A claim to commendation or a reward. | deserved |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set merit and merited apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: merit is anoun and meritedanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “merit” sits inside “merited”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46604, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
merit is recorded at frequency rank #6,267, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛɹɪt/. merited is at rank #40,337, tagged as anadj.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 46604, this pair ranks #210,200 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of merit vs merited
Shared letters: eimrt. Private to "merit": -. Private to "merited": d.
"merit" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "merited" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "merit" and "merited" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "merit" or "merited"?
Remembering merit vs merited
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “merit”; for an adjective, it's “merited”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “merit” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable