Definition of "deserved"

But though he thus abstained from power, his eldest son, the present Lord Morpeth, as Secretary for Ireland at a critical period, acquired a higher reputation and a more deserved popularity than any statesman who ever held that office.

1846, William Cooke Taylor, The National Portrait Gallery of Illustrious and Eminent Personages, Chiefly of the Nineteenth Century, page 34

When the victim fails or refuses, the punishment is perceived as being more deserved.

1992, Scott Daniel Corey, Strength of the Pack: Revolution and Threat Management, page 36

For example, Van Dijk et al. (2005) showed that individuals who were seen to be responsible for their own misfortune evoked more schadenfreude and less sympathy than individuals who were not held responsible for their misfortunes, and that these effects were mediated by the perceived deservingness of the misfortune (i.e., misfortunes for which a target was held responsible were seen as more deserved and in turn elicited more schadenfreude and less sympathy).

2014, Wilco W. van Dijk, Jaap W. Ouwerkerk, Schadenfreude, page 234