a mark, point, or note of disapproval; a record of bad behavior or failure that counts against someone's record.
From 'de-' (opposite) + 'merit' (from Latin 'meritum,' deserved). Created in English to mean the opposite of merit — what you don't deserve or have lost.
Schools and militaries use 'demerits' as the opposite of merits — it's a clever word pairing that shows how English builds opposite concepts by just adding a prefix.
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