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merited

Verb
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Deserved or earned by action or quality. It is a formal, somewhat literary past tense of merit.

Detailed Definition
Merited means deserved, usually in a formal or elevated register. Here it refers to the years that pass without earning the speaker’s fear, suggesting a measured, almost judicial tone. The word is not obscure, but it is more literary than everyday conversation.
Example
Example in poetry:
“But none has merited my fear” uses merited to mean earned or deserved; Her patient witness merited a place in the elegy; In moral poetry, praise is merited by action rather than inherited rank; The storm had merited no worship, only respect
Additional Notes
The form "merited" is a formal literary verb in "But none has merited my fear," and some readers may pause over its exact sense.; Found in the poem, Now Let No Charitable Hope by Elinor Wylie
Also Known As
deserved warranted earned
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