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correct

adjective · verb · noun · adverb

Simple meaning

Free from error.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kerehkt

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

kɚˈɛkt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Free from error; true; accurate.

  2. Free from error; especially conforming to fact or truth

  3. With good manners; well behaved; conforming with accepted standards of behaviour.

verb

  1. transitive

    To make something that was wrong become right; to remove error from.

  2. transitive

    To inform (someone) of their error.

  3. transitive

    To discipline; to punish.

  4. by extensiontransitive

    To grade (examination papers).

  5. Make right or correct

noun

  1. A correct response.

adverb

  1. Correctly.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To make something that was wrong become right; to remove error from.

Used this way, correct is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Slightly negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Critical or judgemental
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use correct

  • “Engineers will work to correct the effects or air resistance.”verb
  • “The new contact lenses will correct for his myopia.”verb
  • “Correct the mistakes.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

politically correctcorrect positioncorrect responsecorrect answerscorrect interpretation

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • correctedadjectiveInflected form

    Having something undesirable neutralized.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • correctivenounDerived noun · specialist

    A device for treating injury or disease.

  • correctnessnounDerived noun

    Conformity to fact or truth.

  • correctlyadverbDerived adverb

    In an accurate manner.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • over-correctverbCompound term

    Make excessive corrections for fear of making an error.

  • politically correctadjectiveCompound term

    Exhibiting political correctness.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

adjective

Sense: free from error

precise

verb

Sense: to make something that was wrong become right

compensateright

Antonyms

Sense: free from error

incorrect

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.