cor·rect
(kə-rĕkt́)
[Middle English correcten, from Latin corrigere, corrēct-, to correct, com-, intensive pref.; see com–, + regere, to rule.]
verb: -rect·ed, -rect·ing, -rects.
transitive verb
- To remove the errors or mistakes from.
- To indicate or mark the errors in.
- To punish for the purpose of improving or reforming.
- To remove, remedy, or counteract (a malfunction, for example).
- To adjust so as to meet a required standard or condition: correct the wheel alignment on a car.
intransitive verb
- To make corrections.
- To make adjustments; compensate: correcting for the effects of air resistance.
adjective
- Free from error or fault; true or accurate.
- Conforming to standards; proper: correct behavior.
derivatives
- cor·rect́a·ble
- adjective
- cor·rect́ly
- adverb
- cor·rect́ness
- noun
- cor·rećtor
- noun
synonyms:
correct, rectify, remedy, redress, reform, revise, amend These verbs mean to make right what is wrong. Correct refers to eliminating faults, errors, or defects: I corrected the spelling mistakes. Rectify stresses the idea of bringing something into conformity with a standard of what is right: The omission of your name from the list will be rectified. Remedy involves removing or counteracting something considered a cause of harm or damage: He took courses to remedy his abysmal ignorance. Redress refers to setting right something considered immoral or unethical and usually involves making reparation: The wrong is too great to be redressed. Reform implies broad change that improves form or character: “Let us reform our schools, and we shall find little reform needed in our prisons” (John Ruskin) Revise suggests change that results from reconsideration: The author revised her manuscript for publication. Amend implies improvement through alteration or correction: “Whenever shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it” (Abraham Lincoln)- See also: punish
