rectify
/ˈɹɛktəˌfaɪ/verb
rectify is spelled R-E-C-T-I-F-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, rectify means “To restore (someone or something) to its proper condition; to straighten out, to set right” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rectify?
| Letters | 7: R-E-C-T-I-F-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rectify?
Rectify appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rectify?
- /ˈɹɛktəˌfaɪ/
Rectify has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-GB-rectify.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rectify?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as rectify.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: certify.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of rectify
- rectifies present, singular, he/she/it
- rectifying participle, present
- rectified participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rectify mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo heal (an organ or part of the body).
- 2
To restore (someone or something) to its proper condition; to straighten out, to set right.
- 3
To remedy or fix (an undesirable state of affairs, situation etc.).
to rectify the crisis
- 4
To purify or refine (a substance) by distillation.
- 5
To correct or amend (a mistake, defect etc.).
- 6
archaicTo correct (someone who is mistaken).
- 7
To adjust (a globe or sundial) to prepare for the solution of a proposed problem.
- 8
To convert (alternating current) into direct current.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rectify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | destillieren , korrigieren |
| French | rectifier |
| Portuguese | retificar |
| Spanish | rectificar, subsanar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rectify come from?
From Middle English rectifien, from Anglo-Norman rectifiier, rectefier (“to make straight”), from Medieval Latin rēctificō (“to make right”), from Latin rēctus (“straight”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).