Adjacent Words

Correct definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CORRECT, a. [L., to set right; right, straight. See Right.] Literally, set right, or made straight. Hence, right; conformable to truth, rectitude or propriety, or conformable to a just standard; not faulty; free from error. A correct edition of a book is exactly according to the original copy. Correct manners correspond with the rules of morality and received notions of decorum. Correct principles coincide with the truth. Correct language is agreeable to established usage.
CORRECT, v.t. [L. See Right.]
1. To make right; to rectify; to bring to the standard of truth, justice, or propriety; as, to correct manners or principles. Hence,
2. To amend; to remove or retrench faults or errors; to set right; as, to correct a book; to correct a copy for the press; or in printing, to correct the press, or errors of the press.
3. To bring back or attempt to bring back to propriety in morals; to punish for faults or deviations from moral rectitude; to chastise; to discipline; as, a child should be corrected for lying.
Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest. Proverbs 29.
4. To obviate or remove whatever is wrong or inconvenient; to reduce or change the qualities of any thing by mixture, or other application; to counteract whatever is injurious; as, to correct the acidity of the stomach by alkaline preparations; to correct the relaxing quality of water by boiling it with animal substances.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: free from error; especially conforming to fact or truth; "the correct answer"; "the correct version"; "the right answer"; "took the right road"; "the right decision" [syn: correct, right] [ant: incorrect, wrong]
2: socially right or correct; "it isn't right to leave the party without saying goodbye"; "correct behavior" [syn: correct, right]
3: in accord with accepted standards of usage or procedure; "what's the right word for this?"; "the right way to open oysters" [syn: correct, right]
4: correct in opinion or judgment; "time proved him right" [syn: right, correct] [ant: wrong] v
1: make right or correct; "Correct the mistakes"; "rectify the calculation" [syn: correct, rectify, right] [ant: falsify]
2: make reparations or amends for; "right a wrongs done to the victims of the Holocaust" [syn: right, compensate, redress, correct] [ant: wrong]
3: censure severely; "She chastised him for his insensitive remarks" [syn: chastise, castigate, objurgate, chasten, correct]
4: adjust for; "engineers will work to correct the effects or air resistance" [syn: compensate, counterbalance, correct, make up, even out, even off, even up]
5: punish in order to gain control or enforce obedience; "The teacher disciplined the pupils rather frequently" [syn: discipline, correct, sort out]
6: go down in value; "the stock market corrected"; "prices slumped" [syn: decline, slump, correct]
7: alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard; "Adjust the clock, please"; "correct the alignment of the front wheels" [syn: adjust, set, correct]
8: treat a defect; "The new contact lenses will correct for his myopia"

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Latin correctus, past participle of corrigere, from com- + regere to lead straight — more at right Date: 14th century 1. a. to make or set right ; amend <correct an error> b. counteract, neutralize <correct a harmful tendency> c. to alter or adjust so as to bring to some standard or required condition <correct a lens for spherical aberration> 2. a. to punish (as a child) with a view to reforming or improving b. to point out usually for amendment the errors or faults of <spent the day correcting tests> • correctable adjective • corrector noun Synonyms: correct, rectify, emend, remedy, redress, amend, reform, revise mean to make right what is wrong. correct implies taking action to remove errors, faults, deviations, defects <correct your spelling>. rectify implies a more essential changing to make something right, just, or properly controlled or directed <rectify a misguided policy>. emend specifically implies correction of a text or manuscript <emend a text>. remedy implies removing or making harmless a cause of trouble, harm, or evil <set out to remedy the evils of the world>. redress implies making compensation or reparation for an unfairness, injustice, or imbalance <redress past social injustices>. amend, reform, revise imply an improving by making corrective changes, amend usually suggesting slight changes <amend a law>, reform implying drastic change <plans to reform the court system>, and revise suggesting a careful examination of something and the making of necessary changes <revise the schedule>. Synonym: see in addition punish. II. adjective Etymology: Middle English, corrected, from Latin correctus, from past participle of corrigere Date: 1668 1. conforming to an approved or conventional standard <correct behavior> 2. conforming to or agreeing with fact, logic, or known truth <a correct response> 3. conforming to a set figure <enclosed the correct return postage> 4. conforming to the strict requirements of a specific ideology or set of beliefs or values <environmentally correct> <spiritually correct> • correctly adverb • correctness noun Synonyms: correct, accurate, exact, precise, nice, right mean conforming to fact, standard, or truth. correct usually implies freedom from fault or error <correct answers> <socially correct dress>. accurate implies fidelity to fact or truth attained by exercise of care <an accurate description>. exact stresses a very strict agreement with fact, standard, or truth <exact measurements>. precise adds to exact an emphasis on sharpness of definition or delimitation <precise calibration>. nice stresses great precision and delicacy of adjustment or discrimination <makes nice distinctions>. right is close to correct but has a stronger positive emphasis on conformity to fact or truth rather than mere absence of error or fault <the right thing to do>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & v. --adj. 1 true, right, accurate. 2 (of conduct, manners, etc.) proper, right. 3 in accordance with good standards of taste etc. --v.tr. 1 set right; amend (an error, omission, etc., or the person responsible for it). 2 mark the errors in (written or printed work etc.). 3 substitute the right thing for (the wrong one). 4 a admonish or rebuke (a person). b punish (a person or fault). 5 counteract (a harmful quality). 6 adjust (an instrument etc.) to function accurately or accord with a standard. Derivatives: correctly adv. correctness n. Etymology: ME (adj. through F) f. L corrigere correct- (as COM-, regere guide)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Correct Cor*rect" (k[^o]r*r[e^]kt"), a. [L. correctus, p. p. of corrigere to make straight, to correct; cor- + regere to lead straight: cf. F. correct. See Regular, Right, and cf. Escort.] Set right, or made straight; hence, conformable to truth, rectitude, or propriety, or to a just standard; not faulty or imperfect; free from error; as, correct behavior; correct views. Always use the most correct editions. --Felton. Syn: Accurate; right, exact; precise; regular; faultless. See Accurate.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Correct Cor*rect", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Corrected; p. pr. & vb. n. Correcting.] 1. To make right; to bring to the standard of truth, justice, or propriety; to rectify; as, to correct manners or principles. This is a defect in the first make of some men's minds which can scarce ever be corrected afterwards. --T. Burnet. 2. To remove or retrench the faults or errors of; to amend; to set right; as, to correct the proof (that is, to mark upon the margin the changes to be made, or to make in the type the changes so marked). 3. To bring back, or attempt to bring back, to propriety in morals; to reprove or punish for faults or deviations from moral rectitude; to chastise; to discipline; as, a child should be corrected for lying. My accuser is my 'prentice; and when I did correct him for his fault the other day, he did vow upon his knees he would be even with me. --Shak. 4. To counteract the qualities of one thing by those of another; -- said of whatever is wrong or injurious; as, to correct the acidity of the stomach by alkaline preparations. Syn: To amend; rectify; emend; reform; improve; chastise; punish; discipline; chasten. See Amend.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(corrects, correcting, corrected) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If something is correct, it is in accordance with the facts and has no mistakes. (FORMAL) The correct answers can be found at the bottom of page 8... The following information was correct at time of going to press... = right ? incorrect ADJ • correctly Did I pronounce your name correctly?... ADV: ADV with v • correctness Ask the investor to check the correctness of what he has written. = accuracy N-UNCOUNT 2. If someone is correct, what they have said or thought is true. (FORMAL) You are absolutely correct. The leaves are from a bay tree... If Casey is correct, the total cost of the cleanup would come to $110 billion. = right ? wrong ADJ: v-link ADJ 3. The correct thing or method is the thing or method that is required or is most suitable in a particular situation. The use of the correct materials was crucial... ...the correct way to produce a crop of tomato plants. = right ADJ: ADJ n • correctly If correctly executed, this shot will give them a better chance of getting the ball close to the hole. = properly ADV: ADV with v 4. If you say that someone is correct in doing something, you approve of their action. You are perfectly correct in trying to steer your mother towards increased independence... I think the president was correct to reject the offer. = right ADJ: usu ADJ in -ing/n • correctly When an accident happens, quite correctly questions are asked. ADV: ADV with cl 5. If you correct a problem, mistake, or fault, you do something which puts it right. He has criticised the government for inefficiency and delays in correcting past mistakes. = rectify VERB: V n • correction (corrections) ...legislation to require the correction of factual errors... We will then make the necessary corrections. N-VAR 6. If you correct someone, you say something which you think is more accurate or appropriate than what they have just said. 'Actually, that isn't what happened,' George corrects me... I must correct him on a minor point. VERB: V n with quote, V n 7. When someone corrects a piece of writing, they look at it and mark the mistakes in it. It took an extraordinary effort to focus on preparing his classes or correcting his students' work. VERB: V n 8. If a person or their behaviour is correct, their behaviour is in accordance with social or other rules. I think English men are very polite and very correct... = proper ADJ • correctly The High Court of Parliament began very correctly with a prayer for the Queen. ADV: ADV with v • correctness ...his stiff-legged gait and formal correctness.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Rectify, amend, mend, reform, redress, reclaim, make right, set right. 2. Punish, chasten, discipline. 3. Change the quality of (by something of an opposite character), modify, improve. II. a. Faultless, exact, precise, accurate, right, true, proper, free from error, not faulty.

Moby Thesaurus

Christian, OK, absolute, accepted, accommodate, accommodate with, accord, according to Hoyle, accurate, acknowledged, adapt, adapt to, adjectival, adjust, adjust to, admitted, admonish, adverbial, agree with, all right, ameliorate, amend, annul, appropriate, approved, apt, assimilate to, attentive, attributive, authentic, authoritative, awaken, be guided by, becoming, befitting, being done, bend, berate, better, blame, blue-pencil, break the spell, bring to account, bring to book, burst the bubble, call to account, cancel, canonical, careful, castigate, censure, change, chasten, chastise, chide, chime in with, close, comely, comme il faut, compensate, comply, comply with, compose, condign, conform, conformable, conforming, conjunctive, conscientious, conventional, copulative, correspond, counteract, counterbalance, critical, cure, customary, de rigueur, dead right, deal with, debunk, decent, decorous, delicate, demanding, detailed, disabuse, disappoint, discipline, disenchant, disillude, disillusion, disillusionize, done, due, edit, emend, emendate, enlighten, established, evangelical, exact, exacting, exigent, expose, exquisite, factual, faithful, fall in with, faultless, felicitous, fine, finical, finicking, finicky, firm, fit, fitting, fix, flawless, follow, formal, functional, fussy, gear to, give satisfaction, glossematic, go by, good, good-mannered, grade, grammatic, happy, harmonize, have words with, impeccable, improve, in order, inflict upon, inspired, intransitive, just, just right, kosher, lecture, let down easy, let in on, letter-perfect, linking, literal, make all square, make conform, make good, make over, make right, make up for, mannerly, mark, masthead, meet, mend, meticulous, minute, modify, mold, narrow, natural, neutralize, nice, nominal, normal, normative, nullify, objurgate, observe, of the faith, offset, okay, orthodox, orthodoxical, participial, particular, pay reparations, penalize, perfect, pillory, postpositional, precise, precisianistic, precisionistic, prepositional, prick the bubble, pronominal, proper, punctilious, punctual, punish, put right, put straight, put to rights, rate, rebuke, received, recense, recognized, recompense, reconcile, rectify, redact, redraft, redress, refined, reform, regulate, religious, remedy, remunerate, repair, reprehend, reprimand, reprove, requite, revamp, reverse, revise, rework, rewrite, right, right and proper, righteous, rightful, rigid, rigorous, rub off corners, scold, scriptural, scrupulous, scrutinizing, seemly, set, set down, set right, set straight, set to rights, set up, settle, settle with, shape, show up, sound, spank, square accounts, standard, straight, straight-up-and-down, straighten, straighten out, strict, structural, substantive, subtle, suit, suitable, syntactic, tagmemic, take down, take to task, tally with, tell the truth, textual, traditional, traditionalistic, transitive, true, true-blue, unblindfold, uncharm, undeceive, undistorted, unimpeachable, unspell, upbraid, usual, valid, veracious, verbal, veridical, vigorous, visit upon, wake up, well-behaved, well-chosen, well-expressed, well-mannered, well-put, well-spoken, work over, yield