rectify

[rek-tuh-fahy]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rectify ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), rec·ti·fied, rec·ti·fy·ing.

to make, put, or set right; remedy; correct: He sent them a check to rectify his account.

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

Chemistry. to purify (especially a spirit or liquor) by repeated distillation.

Electricity. to change (an alternating current) into a direct current.

to determine the length of (a curve).

Astronomy, Geography. to adjust (a globe) for the solution of any proposed problem.

Origin of rectify

1350–1400; Middle English rectifien < Middle French rectifier < Medieval Latin rēctificāre, equivalent to Latin rēct(us) right + -ificāre -ify

Related formsnon·rec·ti·fied, adjectiveself-rec·ti·fy·ing, adjectiveun·rec·ti·fied, adjective

Synonyms for rectify

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rectify ON THESAURUS.COM

1. mend, emend, amend. 2. adjust, regulate, straighten.

Antonyms for rectify

1. worsen, muddle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for rectify

amend, fix, remedy, redress, improve, repair, right, scrub, doctor, reform, launder, debug, adjust, square, mend, emend, revise, recalibrate

Examples from the Web for rectify

Contemporary Examples of rectify

He says he never did the work for money, but instead to rectify that destruction he observed.
When the Son of Hamas Spied for Israel
Nina Strochlic
August 5, 2014
And when that culture still holds onto sexist views of women, even attempts to rectify this imbalance can backfire.
Girls Love Science. We Tell Them Not To.
Tauriq Moosa
July 17, 2014
If I had one wish here, it would be for Aden Young to sneak a surprise nod for Rectify.
Emmys 2014: Who Will and Who Should Be Nominated
Kevin Fallon
July 9, 2014
TV: Rectify, Sundance Channel Is Rectify the best new show on TV?
What You Missed But Shouldn’t Have In 2013
December 25, 2013
And should a silly, sometimes slight comedy like Veep be excised to include yet another harrowing drama, Rectify?
The Best TV Shows of 2013: ‘Orange Is the New Black,’ ‘Breaking Bad’ and More
Kevin Fallon
December 13, 2013

Historical Examples of rectify

My conduct must then have a faulty appearance at least, and I will endeavour to rectify it.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
Mistakes are hard to rectify after a fatal volley has been fired.
The Boy Scouts on Belgian Battlefields
Lieut. Howard Payson
He discovered the mistake when it was too late to rectify it.
Chronicles of Border Warfare
Alexander Scott Withers
However, he saw his mistake in an instant and tried to rectify it.
The Golden Woman
Ridgwell Cullum
Is there a confusion in the figure, he advances to rectify it with a chass rigadoon.
Jack Hinton
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for rectify

rectify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

to put right; correct; remedy

to separate (a substance) from a mixture or refine (a substance) by fractional distillation

to convert (alternating current) into direct current

maths to determine the length of (a curve)

to cause (an object) to assume a linear motion or characteristic

Derived Formsrectifiable, adjectiverectification, noun

Word Origin for rectify

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rectify

c.1400, from Old French rectifier, literally "to make straight" (14c.), from Late Latin rectificare "make right," from Latin rectus "straight" (see right (adj.1)) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Related: Rectified; rectifying.

rectify in Medicine

rectify

[rĕk′tə-fī′]

v.

To set right; correct.

To refine or purify, especially by distillation.