certainly, clearly | hardly
The question hardly merits an answer.

considerable, exceptional, great, outstanding | aesthetic, architectural, artistic, literary
The film has no artistic merit whatsoever.

relative
We need to consider the relative merits of both makes of cooker.

individual
Each case should be judged on its individual merits.

have | argue, assess, consider, debate, discuss, judge
We need to assess the merits of both proposals before making our decision.

award
She received a merit award for outstanding work.

according to ~
Films are given a rating of one to five stars according to merit.

on ~
Prizes are awarded entirely on merit.

no merit in doing sth
I can see no merit in excluding the child from school.

order of merit
The winners are ranked in order of merit.