rectify

[ rek-tuh-fahy ]

verb (used with object)

, rec·ti·fied, rec·ti·fy·ing.

1. to make, put, or set right; remedy; correct:

   He sent them a check to rectify his account.

   Synonyms: amend, emend, mend

   Antonyms: muddle, worsen

2. to put right by adjustment or calculation, as an instrument or a course at sea.

   Synonyms: straighten, regulate, adjust

3. Chemistry. to purify (especially a spirit or liquor) by repeated distillation.
4. Electricity. to change (an alternating current) into a direct current.
5. to determine the length of (a curve).
6. Astronomy, Geography. to adjust (a globe) for the solution of any proposed problem.

rectify

/ ˈrɛktɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to put right; correct; remedy
2. to separate (a substance) from a mixture or refine (a substance) by fractional distillation
3. to convert (alternating current) into direct current
4. maths to determine the length of (a curve)
5. to cause (an object) to assume a linear motion or characteristic

Derived Forms

• ˌrectifiˈcation, noun
• ˈrectiˌfiable, adjective

Other Words From

• self-rec·ti·fy·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rectify¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rectifien, from Middle French rectifier, from Medieval Latin rēctificāre, from Latin rēct(us) “right, straight” + -ificāre -ify; right

Word History and Origins

Origin of rectify¹

C14: via Old French from Medieval Latin rectificāre to adjust, from Latin rectus straight + facere to make

Example Sentences

“This would have given Air India the time and chance to rectify the mother brand and bring it up to the Vistara level, while maintaining its uniqueness,” he adds.

From BBC

Folt also cited “of special significance” her efforts to rectify the university’s checkered past on racial justice — offering honorary degrees to 33 Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II who were denied the chance to continue their USC studies, stripping the name of eugenicist Rufus von KleinSmid from a prominent building and renaming it after Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, a Native American leader, and honoring survivors of the Holocaust with a University Medallion.

From Los Angeles Times

“You also helped us rectify deeply painful episodes, restore a tarnished reputation and resolve serious legal issues, drive culture change, and develop new policies to ensure the safety and well-being of our community,” she wrote to the USC community.

From Los Angeles Times

They say this would "rectify unfairness in the tax system, where working people are subject to proportionately higher rates of tax", and raise £16.7bn per year.

From BBC

I vented to my husband about the irrationality of a society that stigmatizes something that helps rectify hearing loss.

From Slate

Related Words

• amend
• fix
• improve
• redress
• remedy
• straighten out