meritorious

/ˌmɛɹɪˈtɔɹi.əs/

//ˌmɛɹɪˈtɔɹi.əs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"meritorious" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“meritorious” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,738. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,738
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Deserving of merit or commendation; deserving reward.

Corpus desk

Index EN-meritorious · meritorious · English

meritorious · rank #29,738 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,738
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH menswear

Nearest frequency peer: menswear (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “meritorious”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “meritorious” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for meritorious
PropertyValue
Headwordmeritorious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌmɛɹɪˈtɔɹi.əs/
Letters11
Frequency rank#29,738
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “meritorious”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).meritoriouslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “menswear” (#29,737), “methadone” (#29,739), “MENA” (#29,736). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “meritorious” is #29,738. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around meritorious (IPA /ˌmɛɹɪˈtɔɹi.əs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #29,738 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Deserving of merit or commendation; deserving reward.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for meritorious, with forms such as "emritorious", "meirtorious", and "meriotrious". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English meritorious, borrowed between 1375 and 1425 from Latin meritōrius (“earning money”), from meritus, past participle of mereō (“to earn”). The correct English form is meritorious, spelled M-E-R-I-T-O-R-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Deserving of merit or commendation; deserving reward.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how meritorious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The policeman received the Award of Meritorious Service from his grateful department.

Etymology

From Middle English meritorious, borrowed between 1375 and 1425 from Latin meritōrius (“earning money”), from meritus, past participle of mereō (“to earn”).

This word in other languages

meritorio(Español)méritoire(Français)verdienstvoll(Deutsch)meritório(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emritorious
  • meirtorious
  • meriotrious
  • meritoirous
  • meritoriosu
  • meritoriouss
  • meritoriuos
  • meritoroius
  • meritorrious
  • meritroious
  • merittorious
  • merritorious
  • mertiorious
  • mmeritorious
  • mreitorious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of meritorious - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

emritorious2meirtorious2meriotrious2meritoirous2meritoriosu2meritoriouss1meritoriuos2meritoroius2
Edit distance from "meritorious"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "meritorious"?
"meritorious" is spelled M-E-R-I-T-O-R-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌmɛɹɪˈtɔɹi.əs/.
What does "meritorious" mean?
As an adjective, "meritorious" means: Deserving of merit or commendation; deserving reward.
What are common misspellings of "meritorious"?
Common misspellings include "emritorious", "meirtorious", "meriotrious", "meritoirous", "meritoriosu". The correct spelling is "meritorious".
How do you pronounce "meritorious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "meritorious" is /ˌmɛɹɪˈtɔɹi.əs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "meritorious"?
From Middle English meritorious, borrowed between 1375 and 1425 from Latin meritōrius (“earning money”), from meritus, past participle of mereō (“to earn”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "meritorious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mockingbird#29,749nonsensical#29,760instructive#29,694inquisitive#29,693

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

mademoiselle15 variantsNordstrom15 variantsorthogonal15 variantsimpatience15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list