— demeritorious /di mer'i tawr"ee euhs, -tohr"-/ , adj. — demeritoriously , adv.
/di mer"it/ , n.
1. a mark against a person for misconduct or deficiency: If you receive four demerits during a term, you will be expelled from school.
2. the quality of being censurable or punishable; fault; culpability.
3. Obs. merit or desert.
[ 1350-1400; ME ( desmerite ) demeritum fault, n. use of neut. ptp. of L demerere to earn, win the favor of ( de- taken in ML as privative, hence pejorative). See DE-, MERIT ]