cor·rect
(kə-rĕkt′)v. cor·rect·ed, cor·rect·ing, cor·rects
v.tr.1. a. To make or put right: correct a mistake; correct a misunderstanding.
b. To remove the errors or mistakes from: corrected her previous testimony.
c. To indicate or mark the errors in: correct an exam.
2. a. To speak to or communicate with (someone) in order to point out a mistake or error.
b. To scold or punish so as to improve or reform.
3. To remedy or counteract (a defect, for example): The new glasses corrected his blurry vision.
4. To adjust so as to meet a required standard or condition: correct the wheel alignment on a car.
v.intr.1. To make corrections.
2. To make adjustments; compensate: correcting for the effects of air resistance.
adj.1. Free from error or fault; true or accurate.
2. Conforming to standards; proper: correct behavior.
[Middle English
correcten, from Latin
corrigere, corrēct- :
com-,
intensive pref.; see
com- +
regere,
to rule; see
reg- in
Indo-European roots.]
cor·rect′a·ble, cor·rect′i·ble adj.
cor·rect′ly adv.
cor·rect′ness n.
cor·rec′tor n.
Synonyms: correct, rectify, remedy, redress, revise, amend
These verbs mean to make right what is wrong. Correct refers to eliminating faults, errors, or defects: I corrected the spelling mistakes. The new design corrected the flaws in the earlier version.
Rectify stresses the idea of bringing something into conformity with a standard of what is right: "It is dishonest to claim that we can rectify racial injustice without immediate cost" (Mari J. Matsuda).
Remedy involves removing or counteracting something considered a cause of harm, damage, or discontent: He took courses to remedy his abysmal ignorance.
Redress refers to setting right something considered immoral or unethical and usually involves some kind of recompense: "They said he had done very little to redress the abuses that the army had committed against the civilian population" (Daniel Wilkinson).
Revise suggests change that results from careful reconsideration: The agency revised its safety recommendations in view of the new findings.
Amend implies improvement through alteration or correction: "Whenever [the people] 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).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.