What does demerit mean?
A demerit is a mark or point officially recorded against someone as a penalty for a fault, most familiar from schools, military academies, and workplaces that use points-based discipline. A student who talks out of turn might receive a demerit, and enough accumulated demerits can lead to detention, probation, or dismissal. In formal British English, demerit also carries an older sense of a drawback or shortcoming, typically appearing in the phrase "the merits and demerits" of a plan or argument — though American writers generally prefer "pros and cons." The word's structure makes it easy to remember: the prefix de- reverses merit, so a demerit is quite literally the opposite of something earned through good conduct. Because it implies a formal, recorded judgement rather than casual criticism, demerit has a distinctly institutional, slightly old-fashioned flavour, making it useful when you want to convey official censure rather than mere disapproval.
A mark or point recorded against someone as a penalty for a fault or offence.
"She collected five demerits during her first term at the boarding school."
Typical of schools, academies, and disciplined institutions; sounds formal or dated in casual conversation.
A drawback or disadvantage (chiefly British, usually in the plural).
"Each candidate's merits and demerits were discussed at length."
Regular plural; common in institutional contexts and in the fixed phrase "the merits and demerits."
"Too many demerits can cost a cadet his weekend leave."
In demerit, the prefix de- literally flips merit into its opposite — the word is built to be the exact anti-merit, and schoolmasters have been using it to keep score of misbehaviour for centuries.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of demerit
Demerit entered English in the early 15th century from Old French desmerite, ultimately built on Latin meritum, meaning "that which is deserved," from merēre ("to earn"). The de- prefix here functions privatively, reversing the sense so that a demerit is something undeserved by way of fault rather than virtue. It shares this root with merit, meritorious, and emeritus. Originally it could mean desert or wrongdoing generally before narrowing toward the modern sense of a recorded penalty.
How demerit is actually used
"Demerit" belongs chiefly to institutional contexts — schools, cadet corps, workplaces with point-based discipline systems. In everyday American speech it sounds somewhat old-fashioned or bureaucratic. The plural "demerits" meaning drawbacks survives mainly in formal British phrases such as "the merits and demerits of a scheme"; American English prefers "pros and cons" or "drawbacks."
Easily confused with demerit
Merit denotes worth or excellence that earns credit, whereas demerit denotes a fault or penalty recorded against someone.