Rectify: meaning, example and synonyms
Rectifyv. To put right or correct something that is wrong.
Example
Once the error in the census data was discovered, the agency moved quickly to rectify it before the figures were used to redraw district lines.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Synonyms
- correct, fix, remedy, amend
- Antonyms
- worsen, damage, spoil, aggravate
- Memory tip
- rect = "right" (as in rectangle's right angles): make it right.
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Check yourself: Rectify in context
When the museum learned that a label had misidentified the artist, curators ______ the mistake within a week and posted a correction online.
Answer: rectified. Posting a correction shows the curators set the mistake right. Emphasizing, confirming or overshadowing a mistake contradicts the correction.
The new software update was designed to ______ a flaw that had caused the app to lose users' saved notes.
Answer: rectify. An update made to deal with a flaw that loses notes is meant to correct it. An update wouldn't be designed to win out over, display or emphasize the flaw.