I. kəˈrekt, rap. ˈkre- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English correcten, from Latin correctus, past participle of corrigere to make straight, correct, from com- + -rigere (from regere to lead straight, guide, rule) — more at right
transitive verb
1.
a. : to make or set right : remove the faults or errors from : amend
correct some of the mistaken ideas about farming — C.R.Hope
his answer was wrong and he at once corrected himself
legislative action designed to correct existing difficulties — U.S. Code
correct abuses in the city prison
b. : to counteract or neutralize by means of opposite qualities or tendencies — used especially of what is undesirable
the good philosopher was leaning a little in the other direction to correct the excess of my hellenizing zeal — A.N.Whitehead
c. : to alter or adjust so as to bring to some standard or required condition
correct a reading of a gas volume for temperature and pressure
correct a lens for spherical aberration
correct the timing in a motor
2.
a. : to rebuke or to punish or discipline for some fault or lapse (as from propriety)
the older woman corrected the man for taking liberties
b. : to point out for amendment the errors or faults of
the student had to be corrected several times during her recitation
correct proof by indicating the changes to be made in type
a teacher corrects examination papers
3. obsolete : to bring order to : tame
intransitive verb
: to make corrections
Synonyms:
rectify , emend , remedy , redress , amend , reform , revise : these verbs mean, in common, to right what is wrong. One corrects something by altering what is inaccurate, untrue, or imperfect in it or about it so that it is accurate, true, or perfect, or by putting against it or substituting for it what is accurate, true, or perfect
to correct a false accusation
to correct a wrong address on a package
to correct a serious fault of character
to correct spelling errors
One rectifies a mistake or an injustice or a deviation from a standard by the elimination or nullification of the mistake or injustice or by making the deviation conform to the standard
an incredible, disgraceful blunder, which should be rectified at the earliest possible moment — New Republic
to have exploited, rather than tried to rectify … misunderstandings — Times Literary Supplement
set himself to rectify the spiritual and physical poverty of his people — Green Peyton
One emends by freeing from error or defect, especially a statement that misrepresents a speaker's intention or a piece of writing that contains doubtful readings
to emend a financial report hastily and inaccurately compiled
to emend a transcription of an ancient religious scroll
One remedies a cause of trouble, harm, or evil by rendering it innocuous or substituting for it what is good, right, or helpful
the crime can never be remedied, it can only be expiated — C.D.Lewis
done much to remedy the confusion — American Guide Series: Vermont
must remedy their deficiencies — Loyola University Bulletin
One redresses an unfairness, injustice, or imbalance sometimes by elimination of it but usually by making a reparation or providing compensation
trying to redress the serious dislocations resulting from … bad policies — E.B.George
to redress the imbalance in American politics — M.W.Straight
the wrongs that were to be righted, the grievances to be redressed, the abuses to be done away with — Malcolm Muggeridge
the redress of certain social inequities — W.R.Inge
One amends something by making such corrections or alterations as will better it
to amend her life
the work once done he could not or would not amend it — W.B.Yeats
to amend local traffic regulations
One reforms something by making drastic alterations for the better, usually so that it acquires a new form or character
to reform an inefficient administrative system
reformed the rules of procedure of the mayor's court — M.L.Bonham
to reform sloppy habits of study
One revises something when he makes changes that presumably improve it without drastically altering the character of the whole, usually after looking it over carefully
to revise a manuscript story
to revise his opinions
to revise a business organization
Synonym: see in addition punish .
II. adjective
( sometimes -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, corrected, from Latin correctus
1. : adhering or conforming to an approved or conventional standard: as
a. of literary or artistic style : conforming to recognized conventions or an established mode
a correct Palladian portico
b. : suiting or conforming to conventionally recognized principles of thought, behavior, or taste
the correct tip is sixpence — Richard Joseph
Soviet criticism … tried to rule on the attitude of the author as correct or incorrect — Edmund Wilson
c. : scrupulously in accord with social proprieties
rebuffed or evaded with dry correct civilities — John Hurkan
: placing high value on propriety
a careful and correct young man
d. of speech or writing : conforming to the generally accepted rules of grammar or to what is regarded as the best usage
2.
a. : conforming to or agreeing with fact : accurate
have a correct answer to the problem
: conforming to logical or proven principles or agreeing with known truth
it would be correct to call it the best possible treaty
the correct way to hold the tool
b. of a copy or reproduction : free from errors : identical in relevant characteristics : exact
3. : conforming to or agreeing with a set figure (as the price established for an article of merchandise)
sent the correct return postage
Synonyms:
accurate , exact , precise , nice , right : correct means hardly more than freedom from fault or error, often as judged by some conventional or acknowledged standard
it is our custom at Shangri-La to be moderately truthful, and I can assure you that my statements about the porters were almost correct — James Hilton
the more correct social circles of Boston and Cambridge — Florence H. Bullock
accurate implies positive and careful fidelity to fact or truth
the phrases are good enough for statesmen, who identify order with orders and creation with regulations, but the poet-writer must be more accurate than that — E.M.Forster
a solecism of this kind … would have seemed a shocking thing to … so accurate a scholar — L.P.Smith
exact , sometimes interchangeable with precise , generally emphasizes the strictness of the agreement or conformity with fact, standard, or truth
not less than a hundred and thirty feet surely … a hundred and twenty-eight, to be exact — Dorothy Sayers
sciences are not vague. On the contrary they are exact. They are based on fact, proven fact — T.B.Costain
precise carries the idea of sharpness of definition or delimitation or scrupulous exactness
I saw the outside of the note, addressed in straggling, irregular characters, very unlike Holmes' usual precise hand — A.C.Doyle
only an endlessly patient, careful, laborious, precise investigator could set up the new revolutionary conceptions needed to replace these traditions and preconceptions — Havelock Ellis
nice , in the sense pertinent here, implies great, sometimes excessive, precision or delicacy as in discrimination of terms, or the adjustment of interrelated parts
the small provincial gentry of the West, as drawn by Miss Austen … are nice in their gentility almost to a fault — G.M.Trevelyan
it was a time of revolution, when nice legal distinctions are meaningless — John Buchan
the detail of the cornices, the delicate fanlight and nice disposition of carved ornament on the white exterior — American Guide Series: Vermont
right , very close in meaning to correct , has a more positive suggestion, often implying more than mere avoidance of error
the right practice of “art for art's sake” was the devotion of Flaubert or Henry James — T.S.Eliot
where water from wells has just that right degree of permanent hardness to favor brewing — L.D.Stamp
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- correct in the mouth