Rectify

Rectify

Verb · /ˈrektɪfaɪ/ · to set right; to correct an error, fault, or injustice

Definition

To rectify means to put something right that was previously wrong — to correct a mistake, remove a fault, or remedy an injustice. You rectify a billing error. A technician rectifies a wiring fault. A government rectifies an unfair law. The word implies active, deliberate correction: not patching over a problem but genuinely resolving it.

Origin

From Latin rectificare — rectus (right, straight) + facere (to make). To rectify is literally to make straight. The same root rectus gives us correct, erect, and rector. The word entered English in the 15th century through Old French rectifier.