1cor;rect pronunciation: function: transitive verb etymology: middle english, from latin correctus, past participle of corrigere, from com- + regere to lead straight — more at rightdate: 14th century 1 a : to make or set right : amend lt;correct an errorgt; b : counteract, neutralize lt;correct a harmful tendencygt; c : to alter or adjust so as to bring to some standard or required condition lt;correct a lens for spherical aberrationgt;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 lt;spent the day correcting testsgt;— cor;rect;able adjective — cor;rec;tor 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 lt;correct your spellinggt;. rectify implies a more essential changing to make something right, just, or properly controlled or directed lt;rectify a misguided policygt;. emend specifically implies correction of a text or manuscript lt;emend a textgt;. remedy implies removing or making harmless a cause of trouble, harm, or evil lt;set out to remedy the evils of the worldgt;. redress implies making compensation or reparation for an unfairness, injustice, or imbalance lt;redress past social injusticesgt;. amend, reform, revise imply an improving by making corrective changes, amend usually suggesting slight changes lt;amend a lawgt;, reform implying drastic change lt;plans to reform the court systemgt;, and revise suggesting a careful examination of something and the making of necessary changes lt;revise the schedulegt;.synonyms see in addition punish