rectify

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It is a mistake which it will take him fully ten years to rectify, and then he will make a similar mistake as to men of fifty.

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Definitions (34)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. transitive verb To set right; correct.
  2. transitive verb To correct by calculation or adjustment. See Synonyms at correct.
  3. transitive verb Chemistry To refine or purify, especially by distillation.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (22)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • To rectify (heh) this and perhaps other gaps in your knowledge of how penises work, I recommend going to your local library and seeing if they have a copy of —  The L Magazine - New York City's Local Event and Arts & Culture Guide
  • "It's certainly something that we wish we could rectify, that every fan who wanted to buy a ticket could buy one," Dee said. —  Nashuatelegraph.com local, state, business and sports news
  • If, in the Auctioneer's opinion, removal of any lot or part thereof will be likely to cause serious damage to the seller's premises, or any other damage which the buyer is either unable or unwilling to rectify, the Auctioneer may by notice to the buyer rescind the sale of such lot or permit the removal thereof from the premises to proceed subject to such conditions as it may think fit to impose. —  Engineering News | Home
  • Later in the AP article, Rep. Rob Andrews of New Jersey concisely summarizes the impact of that Supreme Court Ruling and the situation that the Ledbetter Act is meant to rectify: —  B and B
  • Most components in the US use AC so you will have to rectify or (worse) burn the hydrogen to get your AC. —  Brad Ideas - Comments
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Used in the same contextWord Family

rectify:   rectifying ·  rectified
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English rectifien, from Old French rectifier, from Medieval Latin rēctificāre : Latin rēctus, right; see reg- in Indo-European roots + Latin -ficāre, -fy.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Early modern English rectifie, rectyfye; from Old French (and F.) rectifier =Provencal Spanish Portuguese rectificar =Italian rettificare, from Middle Latin rectificare, make right, rectify, from Latin rectus, straight (=English right), + -ficare, from facere, make.
 

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/ˈrɛktɪfai/
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