Value vs. Merit: What's the Difference?
Edited by Harlon Moss || By Janet White || Updated on October 3, 2023
"Value" refers to the worth or importance of something, while "Merit" refers to the quality of being particularly good or worthy. They differ in that value is the perceived worth, and merit is the inherent quality or worthiness.
Key Differences
"Value" and "Merit" are terms often used to describe the worth or quality of something, each with its distinct implication. Value is a more versatile term and can refer to the monetary worth of an item, the importance or usefulness of something, or the principles one holds dear. It is often subjective, varying from person to person based on individual needs, preferences, and moral compass. In contrast, Merit refers to the deservingness or excellence of an individual or thing, usually determined by performance or inherent qualities. It is associated with worthiness and is often used to evaluate a person’s actions, abilities, or achievements.
Discussing further, Value can be both intrinsic and extrinsic, indicating the inherent worth of something or the assigned worth based on external factors. It can be a deeply personal concept, representing one’s beliefs and priorities, affecting decision-making processes. Merit, on the other hand, is typically a reflection of quality, competence, and achievement. It can be seen as an objective assessment, and it is often rewarded or acknowledged, such as through merit-based scholarships or awards, which recognize individuals for their accomplishments or abilities.
Delving into implications, the concept of Value can influence societal structures, economic systems, and individual behaviors. It is a driving force behind human actions, reflecting what people deem important or worthwhile, shaping choices and perspectives. Conversely, Merit often serves as a standard of evaluation, assessing the worthiness or excellence of an individual or action. It plays a pivotal role in various domains like education and employment, where meritocratic systems aim to reward and promote individuals based on their skills, knowledge, and accomplishments.
In summary, while Value is a multifaceted concept reflecting importance, worth, or principles, Merit is an assessment of quality, excellence, or worthiness. Value encompasses a wide range of perceptions and is subjective and versatile, while Merit is more objective, focusing on the inherent worthiness or achievements of an individual or thing.
Comparison Chart
Definition
The worth, importance, or principles of something.
The quality of being particularly good or worthy.
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Nature
Subjective and versatile.
More objective, based on inherent qualities or achievements.
Application
Can be applied to items, concepts, or principles.
Often applied to individual achievements or qualities.
Implication
Reflects worth or importance based on individual perception.
Reflects deservingness or excellence based on assessment.
Role
Influences preferences, decisions, and behaviors.
Serves as a standard for evaluation and acknowledgment.
Value and Merit Definitions
Value
An amount, as of goods, services, or money, considered to be a fair and suitable equivalent for something else; a fair price or return.
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Merit
The quality of being particularly good or worthy.
The theory has the merit of being testable.
Value
Monetary or material worth
The fluctuating value of gold and silver.
Merit
A commendable quality or act.
One merit of the plan is its simplicity.
Value
Worth in usefulness or importance to the possessor; utility or merit
The value of an education.
Merit
Worthiness or excellence.
The merit of the employees was recognized.
Value
Often values A principle or standard, as of behavior, that is considered important or desirable
"The speech was a summons back to the patrician values of restraint and responsibility" (Jonathan Alter).
Merit
Superior quality or worth; excellence
A proposal of some merit.
An ill-advised plan without merit.
Value
Precise meaning or import, as of a word.
Merit
A quality deserving praise or approval; virtue
A store having the merit of being open late.
Value
(Mathematics) A quantity or number expressed by an algebraic term.
Merit
Demonstrated ability or achievement
Promotions based on merit alone.
Value
(Music) The relative duration of a tone or rest.
Merit
Often merits An aspect of character or behavior deserving approval or disapproval
Judging people according to their merits.
Value
The relative darkness or lightness of a color. See Table at color.
Merit
In various religions, spiritual credit granted for good works.
Value
(Linguistics) The sound quality of a letter or diphthong.
Merit
(Law) The factors to be considered in making a substantive decision in a case, independent of procedural or technical aspects
A trial on the merits.
Value
One of a series of specified values
Issued a stamp of new value.
Merit
The factual content of a matter, apart from emotional, contextual, or formal considerations.
Value
To determine or estimate the worth or value of; appraise.
Merit
To earn; deserve.
Value
To regard highly; esteem
I value your advice.
Merit
To be worthy or deserving
Pupils are rewarded or corrected, as they merit.
Value
To rate according to relative estimate of worth or desirability; evaluate
Valued health above money.
Merit
(countable) A claim to commendation or a reward.
Value
To assign a value to (a unit of currency, for example).
Merit
(countable) A mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence.
For her good performance in the examination, her teacher gave her ten merits.
Value
Of or relating to the practice of investing in individual securities that, according to some fundamental measure, such as book value, appear to be relatively less expensive than comparable securities.
Merit
Something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward.
His reward for his merit was a check for $50.
Value
Relating to or consisting of principles or standards
A value system.
Merit
The sum of all the good deeds that a person does which determines the quality of the person's next state of existence and contributes to the person's growth towards enlightenment.
To acquire or make merit
Value
The quality (positive or negative) that renders something desirable or valuable.
The Shakespearean Shylock is of dubious value in the modern world.
Merit
Usually in the plural form the merits: the substantive rightness or wrongness of a legal argument, a lawsuit, etc., as opposed to technical matters such as the admissibility of evidence or points of legal procedure; (by extension) the overall good or bad quality, or rightness or wrongness, of some other thing.
Even though the plaintiff was ordered by the judge to pay some costs for not having followed the correct procedure, she won the case on the merits.
Value
(uncountable) The degree of importance given to something.
The value of my children's happiness is second only to that of my wife.
Merit
The quality or state of deserving retribution, whether reward or punishment.
Value
That which is valued or highly esteemed, such as one's morals, morality, or belief system.
He does not share his parents' values.
Family values
Merit
(transitive) To deserve, to earn.
Her performance merited wild applause.
Value
The amount (of money or goods or services) that is considered to be a fair equivalent for something else.
Merit
(intransitive) To be deserving or worthy.
They were punished as they merited.
Value
(music) The relative duration of a musical note.
The value of a crotchet is twice that of a quaver.
Merit
To reward.
Value
(arts) The relative darkness or lightness of a color in (a specific area of) a painting etc.
Merit
The quality or state of deserving well or ill; desert.
Here may men see how sin hath his merit.
Be it known, that we, the greatest, are misthoughtFor things that others do; and when we fall,We answer other's merits in our name.
Value
Any definite numerical quantity or other mathematical object, determined by being measured, computed, or otherwise defined.
The exact value of pi cannot be represented in decimal notation.
Merit
The quality or state of deserving well; worth; excellence.
Reputation is . . . oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.
To him the wit of Greece and Rome was known,And every author's merit, but his own.
Value
Precise meaning; import.
The value of a word; the value of a legal instrument
Merit
Reward deserved; any mark or token of excellence or approbation; as, his teacher gave him ten merits.
Those laurel groves, the merits of thy youth.
Value
(in the plural) The valuable ingredients to be obtained by treating a mass or compound; specifically, the precious metals contained in rock, gravel, etc.
The vein carries good values.
The values on the hanging walls
Merit
To earn by service or performance; to have a right to claim as reward; to deserve; sometimes, to deserve in a bad sense; as, to merit punishment.
Value
(obsolete) Esteem; regard.
Merit
To reward.
Value
(obsolete) Valour; also spelled valew.
Merit
To acquire desert; to gain value; to receive benefit; to profit.
Value
To estimate the value of; judge the worth of something.
I will have the family jewels valued by a professional.
Merit
Any admirable quality or attribute;
Work of great merit
Value
To fix or determine the value of; assign a value to, as of jewelry or art work.
Merit
The quality of being deserving (e.g., deserving assistance);
There were many children whose deservingness he recognized and rewarded
Value
To regard highly; think much of; place importance upon.
Gold was valued highly among the Romans.
Merit
Be worthy or deserving;
You deserve a promotion after all the hard work you have done
Value
To hold dear.
I value these old photographs.
Merit
Deserving reward or praise.
The suggestion is of little merit.
Value
The property or aggregate properties of a thing by which it is rendered useful or desirable, or the degree of such property or sum of properties; worth; excellence; utility; importance.
Ye are all physicians of no value.
Ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Cæsar is well acquainted with your virtue,And therefore sets this value on your life.
Before events shall have decided on the value of the measures.
Merit
Virtuousness or righteousness.
The merit of her argument was recognized by all.
Value
Worth estimated by any standard of purchasing power, especially by the market price, or the amount of money agreed upon as an equivalent to the utility and cost of anything.
An article may be possessed of the highest degree of utility, or power to minister to our wants and enjoyments, and may be universally made use of, without possessing exchangeable value.
Value is the power to command commodities generally.
Value is the generic term which expresses power in exchange.
His design was not to pay him the value of his pictures, because they were above any price.
Value
Precise signification; import; as, the value of a word; the value of a legal instrument
Value
Esteem; regard.
My relation to the person was so near, and my value for him so great
Value
The relative length or duration of a tone or note, answering to quantity in prosody; thus, a quarter note [ ] has the value of two eighth notes [ ].
Value
In an artistical composition, the character of any one part in its relation to other parts and to the whole; - often used in the plural; as, the values are well given, or well maintained.
Value
Valor.
Value
That property of a color by which it is distinguished as bright or dark; luminosity.
Value
Any particular quantitative determination; as, a function's value for some special value of its argument.
Value
The valuable ingredients to be obtained by treatment from any mass or compound; specif., the precious metals contained in rock, gravel, or the like; as, the vein carries good values; the values on the hanging walls.
Value
To estimate the value, or worth, of; to rate at a certain price; to appraise; to reckon with respect to number, power, importance, etc.
The mind doth value every moment.
The queen is valued thirty thousand strong.
The king must take it ill,That he's so slightly valued in his messenger.
Neither of them valued their promises according to rules of honor or integrity.
Value
To rate highly; to have in high esteem; to hold in respect and estimation; to appreciate; to prize; as, to value one for his works or his virtues.
Which of the dukes he values most.
Value
To raise to estimation; to cause to have value, either real or apparent; to enhance in value.
Some value themselves to their country by jealousies of the crown.
Value
To be worth; to be equal to in value.
The peace between the French and us not valuesThe cost that did conclude it.
Value
A numerical quantity measured or assigned or computed;
The value assigned was 16 milliseconds
Value
The quality (positive or negative) that renders something desirable or valuable;
The Shakespearean Shylock is of dubious value in the modern world
Value
The amount (of money or goods or services) that is considered to be a fair equivalent for something else;
He tried to estimate the value of the produce at normal prices
Value
Relative darkness or lightness of a color;
I establish the colors and principal values by organizing the painting into three values--dark, medium...and light
Value
(music) the relative duration of a musical note
Value
An ideal accepted by some individual or group;
He has old-fashioned values
Value
Fix or determine the value of; assign a value to;
Value the jewelry and art work in the estate
Value
Hold dear;
I prize these old photographs
Value
Regard highly; think much of;
I respect his judgement
We prize his creativity
Value
Place a value on; judge the worth of something;
I will have the family jewels appraised by a professional
Value
Estimate the value of;
How would you rate his chances to become President?
Gold was rated highly among the Romans
Value
The importance or worth of something.
He sees great value in kindness.
Value
Monetary worth of an item or service.
The value of the car depreciated over time.
Value
A principle or standard of behavior.
Honesty is a core value for her.
Value
The usefulness or significance of something.
The nutritional value of fruits is high.
Value
The regard or esteem something is held to deserve.
The value of hard work cannot be overstated.
FAQs
Q: Is value subjective?
A: Yes, value is often subjective, varying based on individual perceptions and needs.
Q: Is merit an assessment of quality?
A: Yes, merit is an assessment of the quality or worthiness of an individual or thing.
Q: Can value be both intrinsic and extrinsic?
A: Yes, value can be intrinsic, reflecting inherent worth, or extrinsic, assigned based on external factors.
Q: What does value primarily indicate?
A: Value primarily indicates the worth, importance, or principles of something.
Q: Can merit be based on accomplishments?
A: Yes, merit is often based on individual accomplishments or demonstrated abilities.
Q: Is merit a standard for evaluation?
A: Yes
Q: Is merit more objective than value?
A: Generally, merit is considered more objective as it assesses inherent qualities or achievements.
Q: Does merit play a role in education?
A: Yes, merit plays a crucial role in education through meritocratic systems and merit-based awards.
Q: Can the value of an item depreciate?
A: Yes, the value of an item, especially monetary value, can depreciate over time.
Q: Can merit be rewarded?
A: Yes, merit is often rewarded through things like merit-based scholarships or awards.
Q: Can value reflect personal beliefs?
A: Absolutely, value can reflect one’s personal beliefs, principles, or moral standards.
Q: Does value influence human behavior?
A: Indeed, value significantly influences human choices, actions, and behaviors.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
