Merited
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: Of or pertaining to merit.
Part of speech: verb
Definition: To deserve, to earn.
Deserved
Part of speech: verb
Definition: To be entitled to, as a result of past actions; to be worthy to have.
Example sentence: The first novel I wrote was a monster - clocking in at 180,000 words - but it died a death, a death it deserved. It was called 'The Gods First Make Mad.' It was a good title, but it was the only good thing about the book. I didn't let that put me off.