meritoriousness vs merit

meritoriousness and merit both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
meritoriousness	Yes	No	No	No
merit	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, meritoriousness and merit are synonyms defined as:

meritoriousness and merit: the quality of being deserving (e.g., deserving assistance)

Other synonyms of meritoriousness include deservingness.

meritoriousness (noun)	merit (noun)
the quality of being deserving (e.g., deserving assistance)	any admirable quality or attribute
	the quality of being deserving (e.g., deserving assistance)

meritoriousness (verb)	merit (verb)
	be worthy or deserving