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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word correct different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of correct are accurate, exact, nice, precise, and right. While all these words mean "conforming to fact, standard, or truth," correct usually implies freedom from fault or error.

correct answers
socially correct dress

When could accurate be used to replace correct?

The synonyms accurate and correct are sometimes interchangeable, but accurate implies fidelity to fact or truth attained by exercise of care.

an accurate description

When can exact be used instead of correct?

The words exact and correct are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, exact stresses a very strict agreement with fact, standard, or truth.

exact measurements

Where would nice be a reasonable alternative to correct?

While in some cases nearly identical to correct, nice stresses great precision and delicacy of adjustment or discrimination.

makes nice distinctions

How do precise and exact relate to one another, in the sense of correct?

Precise adds to exact an emphasis on sharpness of definition or delimitation.

precise calibration

How are the words right and correct related?

Right is close to correct but has a stronger positive emphasis on conformity to fact or truth rather than mere absence of error or fault.

the right thing to do

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of correct
Adjective
Note: This story was updated to include the correct length of service for Ashley Smith and to add additional information about staffing at WXIX-TV. Hailey Roden, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025 If current weather forecasts prove correct, temperatures Sunday might only reach 64 degrees, which would make 2025 the fifth coldest in history. Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
Verb
While some corrected her that the event is next week on July 13th, many others took it as a tease that she will be involved in the show. Andrew Ravens‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025 This story has been update to correct the name of Dr. Anne Wagner, director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center's burn unit. Beth Warren, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for correct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for correct
Adjective
  • Prices were accurate at the time of publication but may change.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 5 July 2025
  • Even when observers were given the personal backstory behind a tattoo, their judgments didn’t become significantly more accurate.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
Adjective
  • The potential disasters of treating art like traditional investments far outweigh the cost of proper planning.
    Matthew F. Erskine, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • Eggs themselves are not a source of collagen—but the egg white specifically contains proline and glycine, two essential amino acids for proper collagen production.
    Alessandra Signorelli, Vogue, 1 July 2025
Adjective
  • Mamdani has secured endorsements from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, but lacks formal support from Hochul and two other prominent New York lawmakers, Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries.
    Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
  • But since azaleas tolerate heavy pruning and respond by sending out new shoots all along remaining stems, the shrubs work well when sheared into a formal hedge.
    Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 July 2025
Verb
  • But a provision tucked inside the Senate Republican bill to enact President Trump's second-term agenda would force the USPS to sell off the brand new trucks and cancel or significantly amend the contract for the remaining 58,800 that are due to be delivered over the next 10 years.
    Tracy J. Wholf June 24, CBS News, 24 June 2025
  • Wilson said amending the city’s sign ordinance to allow digital billboards could also open San Diego up legally to other types of advertising the city has prohibited.
    David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 June 2025
Verb
  • The changes to the federal health care programs, particularly Medicaid, were always expected to become a centerpiece of the GOP package, a way to offset the costs of providing tax breaks for millions of Americans.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 26 June 2025
  • This can then be offset against matching or contrasting clothes.
    Laia Farran Graves, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • Instead of being punished for keeping coal unburned, these communities can be rewarded and reinvested in jobs, renewables, and resilience.
    Michael Sheldrick, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • At the end of Season 2, In-ho so graciously betrays everybody and eventually sneaks away from the pack, fakes his own death of the walkie talkie, and then puts his mask back on and punishes Gi-hun for causing this whole revolt and shoots and kills his best friend right in front of him.
    Jim Halterman, Variety, 1 July 2025
Adjective
  • Be open to what needs to be dismantled in order to build something stronger and more aligned with your true path in the future.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 July 2025
  • Staying true to her signature fusion of genres, Bonner also partnered with streetwear brand Y-3.
    Alice Pfeiffer, CNN Money, 1 July 2025
Adjective
  • Fittingly, a green laser shined out into the crowd as attendees turned from polite listeners to a rowdy mosh pit, singing every word.
    Ellise Shafer, Variety, 27 June 2025
  • Anne Hathaway’s Lureen, all rodeo sparkle and small-town ambition, is Jack’s half-hearted refuge; her final scene is a master class in polite denial, her eyes steel behind a frosty Texas drawl.
    Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 27 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Correct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/correct. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.

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