The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word MERIT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
M
E
R
I
T
More clues leading to the result MERIT
- Excellence of top female in American university
- Value emergency room with German nurses
- Value in flag, patriotism finally returning
- Goodness! Monsieur has raised flag!
- Expression of doubt in Cambridge University? Goodness!
- Value of claim ultimately getting exhaust put back
- Foreign sea — it becomes desert
- Value in tax with millions retrieved
- Worth Rome writer ignoring argumentative individual at intervals?
- Middle East artist regularly getting distinction
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Goodness" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case goodness = merit.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does MERIT mean?
MERIT noun- A claim to commendation or a reward.
- A mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence.
- Something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward.
- 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.
- 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.
- The quality or state of deserving retribution, whether reward or punishment.
- To deserve, to earn.
- To be deserving or worthy.
- To reward.