v., -rect·ed, -rect·ing, -rects. v.tr.
- 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.
- To make corrections.
- To make adjustments; compensate: correcting for the effects of air resistance.
- Free from error or fault; true or accurate.
- Conforming to standards; proper: correct behavior.
[Middle English correcten, from Latin corrigere, corrēct-, to correct : com-, intensive pref.; see com– + regere, to rule.]
correctable cor·rect'a·ble or cor·rect'i·ble adj.correctly cor·rect'ly adv.
correctness cor·rect'ness n.
corrector cor·rec'tor n.
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 [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). See also synonyms at punish.
