meritorious
/ˌmɛɹɪˈtɔɹi.əs/adjective
meritorious is spelled M-E-R-I-T-O-R-I-O-U-S: 11 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, meritorious means “Deserving of merit or commendation; deserving reward” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in meritorious?
| Letters | 11: M-E-R-I-T-O-R-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is meritorious?
Meritorious appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce meritorious?
- US /ˌmɛɹɪˈtɔɹi.əs/
- US /ˌmɛɹɪˈtoʊɹi.əs/
- UK /ˌmɛɹɪˈtɔːɹɪ.əs/
Meritorious has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-meritorious.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with meritorious?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as meritorious from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹiəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of meritorious
- more meritorious comparative
- most meritorious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does meritorious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Deserving of merit or commendation; deserving reward.
The policeman received the Award of Meritorious Service from his grateful department.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Meritorious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense deserving of merit or commendation; deserving reward:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | méritoire, louable |
| German | verdienstvoll |
| Portuguese | meritório |
| Spanish | meritorio, loable, encomiable, elogiable, ensalzable, benemérito |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does meritorious come from?
From Middle English meritorious, borrowed between 1375 and 1425 from Latin meritōrius (“earning money”), from meritus, past participle of mereō (“to earn”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).