merit vs substantial

merit

noun
  • Something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward. 

  • 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. 

  • A claim to commendation or a reward. 

  • A mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence. 

  • 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. 

verb
  • To be deserving or worthy. 

  • To deserve, to earn. 

substantial

noun
  • Anything having substance; an essential part. 

adj
  • Most important; essential. 

  • Not imaginary; real; actual; true; veritable. 

  • Having a substance; actually existing. 

  • Corporeal; material; firm. 

  • Possessed of goods or an estate; moderately wealthy. 

  • Satisfying; having sufficient substance to be nourishing or filling. 

  • Large in size, quantity, or value; ample; significant. 

  • Having good substance; strong; stout; solid; firm. 

How often have the words merit and substantial occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )