merit vs deserve or justify

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello,

Could you tell me please if the verb ‘merit’ can be substituted by the verb ‘deserve’?

This is a sentence from New York Daily:

‘Still more years passed with no one so much as hinting that it (the building in question) was remarkable and merited landmark preservation.’

And here is another example from the coursebook ProFile 3 Upper-Intermediate by Jon Naunton:

The company (L’Oreal) had been evaluating the market (in China) for years, but until the early 1990 it considered average incomes too low, and distribution channels too poor, to merit a launch.

Or is the verb ‘justify’ a better choice instead of ‘merit’?

Thank you for the time and help.

2

Hi Vectra,

All three verbs (merit/deserve/justify) hover around the same meaning. Possibly ‘justify’ has the sense of what is right administratively. ‘Deserve’ would be the most common in conversation. ‘Merit’ has a distinctly formal air about it. You could argue till the cows come home about the differences and how they are used. If you want to look up current uses, I recommend the bnc. You put in your word or phrase and then get 50 examples of its use.

Alan

Here is the link: natcorp.ox.ac.uk/