Word of the Day

: March 31, 2018

rectitude

noun REK-tuh-tood

What It Means

1 : the quality or state of being straight

2 : moral integrity : righteousness

3 : the quality or state of being correct in judgment or procedure

rectitude in Context

As treasurer of the organization, she advocated a kind of fiscal rectitude that is widely credited with saving the organization from financial ruin.

"Integrity doesn't demand flawlessness, but it does require the kind of moral rectitude that enables one to quickly assume responsibility for one's errors, to say 'I was wrong and I am sorry.'" — Jill Filipovic, Mother Jones, 8 Feb. 2018

Did You Know?

Rectitude has a righteous derivation. It comes straight from the Latin adjective rectus, which means both "right" and "straight." Rectitude itself can mean either "straightness" (an early use referred to literal straightness of lines, although this sense is now rare) or "rightness" of character. Rectus has a number of other descendants in English, including rectangle (a figure with four right angles), rectify ("to make right"), rectilinear ("moving in or forming a straight line"), and even rectus itself (a medical term for any one of several straight muscles in the body).