Merit being severed somehow (7)
I believe the answer is:
deserve
'merit' is the definition.
(I know that merit can be written as deserve)
'severed somehow' is the wordplay.
'somehow' indicates anagramming the letters.
'severed' with letters rearranged gives 'DESERVE'.
'being' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for deserve that I've seen before include "Warrant" , "Justify" , "Be worth" , "Show one is worthy" , "Merit (something)" .)