remedial
Americanadjective
-
intended to correct or improve one's skill in a specified field.
remedial math.
- Synonyms:
- corrective
adjective
-
affording a remedy; curative
-
denoting or relating to special teaching, teaching methods, or material for backward and slow learners
remedial education
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of remedial
From the Late Latin word remediālis, dating back to 1645–55. See remedy, -al 1
Explanation
When you do poorly in a subject and get sent to a class that focuses on basic concepts and better study habits, you are taking a remedial class. If you know that a remedy is a type of medicine, then you have a clue to the meaning of remedial. Like a remedy, remedial classes are supposed to improve you, specifically in school subjects that you haven't done well in. Lately, the term is most often used to describe courses given to students who are not prepared for regular work. New college students often have to take remedial classes before they can begin actual university-level courses.
Vocabulary lists containing remedial
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"An Early Start on College"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bessent is “looking to put a remedial plan in place,” Turner told MarketWatch in an email.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Without hesitation I told her she should pick up “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn, first published in 1980 and still the most comprehensive remedial tonic to received wisdom I know.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
I have often had to advise freshman students of the necessity for them to take a remedial course in English.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
One developer was taken to court by the government in April for using taxpayers' money for such remedial works.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Teenagers from the North spend two months to two years at Hangyoreh Middle-High School, a government-funded remedial boarding school affiliated with Hanawon.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
