Merited, by a whisker (4)
I believe the answer is:
just
This clue is a double definition.
'merited' is the first definition.
(thesaurus)
'by a whisker' is the second definition.
(I've seen this before)
(Other definitions for just that I've seen before include "Merely - fair" , "free from bias" , "Fair and proper" , "Morally right" , "Merited" .)