correctness

American  

[kuh-rekt-nis] / kəˈrɛkt nɪs /

noun

1. conformity to fact or truth; freedom from error; accuracy.

   The correctness of the eyewitness’s account was later called into question.

2. the quality of being proper; conformity to an acknowledged or accepted standard.

   We are concerned with the correctness of our probationers' conduct.

3. the quality of being just or right in a judgment or opinion.

   We accepted the correctness of the tribunal’s ruling.

4. an indication of or adherence to a liberal or progressive ideology on matters of ethnicity, religion, sexuality, ecology, etc..

   A car strewn with Styrofoam cups is hardly a testimony to environmental correctness.

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Etymology

Origin of correctness

First recorded in 1670–90; correct ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

My father, a World War II officer and stickler for correctness, was especially proud of my medal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

In the early 1990s, the two men wrote for a campus publication, attacking what they saw as political correctness destroying American higher education.

From Barron's • Dec. 24, 2025

The tunes are all exuberant, and even with a new era of political correctness, never offensive.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2025

"I have seen the arguments in the papers by some lawyers regarding the correctness of some civilians being tried in the Court Martial," President Museveni said in a long post on X.

From BBC • Dec. 12, 2024

Over the next several days there was a strained, tightly wound quality to the way they treated each other, a rigid correctness that was enforced by repetitive acts of willpower.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

Related Words

• civility
• decency
• decorum
• fitness
• rightness