accurate

adjective

ac·cu·rate ˈa-kyə-rət

ˈa-k(ə-)rət

Synonyms of accurate next

: free from error especially as the result of care

an accurate diagnosis

: conforming exactly to truth or to a standard : exact

providing accurate color

: able to give an accurate result

an accurate gauge

: going to, reaching, or hitting the intended target : not missing the target

an accurate shot/kick

The next play, Johnson fielded a sharp grounder and made an accurate throw to first.—

Joe Smith

: tending to hit the intended target

an accurate free-throw shooter

accurateness

ˈa-kyə-rət-nəs

ˈa-k(ə-)rət-nəs

noun

Choose the Right Synonym for accurate

correct, accurate, exact, precise, nice, right mean conforming to fact, standard, or truth.

correct usually implies freedom from fault or error.

correct answers

socially correct dress

accurate implies fidelity to fact or truth attained by exercise of care.

an accurate description

exact stresses a very strict agreement with fact, standard, or truth.

exact measurements

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

precise calibration

nice stresses great precision and delicacy of adjustment or discrimination.

makes nice distinctions

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

The model is accurate down to the tiniest details. Her novel is historically accurate. The machines were not yet accurate enough to give useful results.

Recent Examples on the Web Alex Murdaugh's comments to police about his whereabouts around the time his wife and son were fatally shot may not have been accurate, according to video evidence presented by prosecutors Friday at the South Carolina attorney's murder trial. —

Jeffrey Collins, ajc, 27 Jan. 2023 The unofficial renders show a similar camera bump to what’s visible in a teaser image on the OnePlus website, suggesting that the depiction of this camera bump is accurate. —

Jon Porter, The Verge, 26 Jan. 2023 One of my obsessions, especially in a world where people are watching TV in 4K, it’s that the detail in the image is accurate. —

Josh Weiss, Forbes, 26 Jan. 2023 Other than that, the Club for Growth’s letter is accurate. —

WSJ, 25 Jan. 2023 Google also does not guarantee that its translations are accurate. —

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2023 County election officials say the certified election results are accurate and no provisional ballots were mistakenly rejected. —

Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, 23 Jan. 2023 ChatGPT's output isn't always accurate, but its performance has been convincing enough to illustrate a potential conversational search interface that would make Google's technology look antiquated. —

Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 23 Jan. 2023 The chatbot uses generative AI to spit out human-like responses to prompts in seconds, but because it’s been trained on information publicly available from the internet, books and Wikipedia, the answers aren’t always accurate. —

Time, 20 Jan. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'accurate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin accūrātus "prepared with care, studied, meticulous," from past participle of accūrāre "to give attention to, do carefully," from ad- ad- + cūrāre "to watch over, care for" — more at cure entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of accurate was circa 1599

See more words from the same year