Correct vs. Right: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
"Correct" refers to being free from error or in accordance with facts or standards, while "Right" often implies conformity to moral, ethical, or legal standards.
Key Differences
Correct primarily implies accuracy or adherence to a standard or fact, whereas Right often relates to ethical correctness or appropriateness.
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Dec 05, 2023
Correct is frequently used in the context of factual accuracy or grammar, while Right is often used in moral, legal, or personal choice contexts.
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Dec 05, 2023
To correct something often means to rectify or fix an error, whereas to do right typically means to act ethically or morally.
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Dec 05, 2023
Correct is used in academic, scientific, and linguistic settings, while Right is more common in ethical, legal, and personal decision-making scenarios.
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Dec 05, 2023
Correctness often has a more objective nature, based on established standards, whereas Right can be more subjective, influenced by personal or societal values.
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Dec 05, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Primary Meaning
Free from error, in accordance with facts
Conforming to moral, ethical, or legal standards
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Context of Use
Academic, linguistic, factual accuracy
Ethical, moral, legal, personal choice
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Implication of Action
Rectifying or fixing an error
Acting ethically or morally
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Nature
Often objective, based on standards
Can be subjective, based on values
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Common Usage
"Correct answer," "correct a mistake"
"Do the right thing," "legal right"
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Correct and Right Definitions
Correct
Free from error; conforming to fact or truth.
The correct answer to the math problem is 42.
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Dec 05, 2023
Correct
In accordance with accepted standards or rules.
Her grammar was always correct.
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Dec 05, 2023
Right
Most appropriate, advantageous, or well advised.
It's right to consult a doctor if you're feeling unwell.
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Dec 05, 2023
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Right
Conforming with or conformable to justice, law, or morality
Do the right thing and confess.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
To indicate or show the right answer or form.
The teacher corrected the student's pronunciation.
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Dec 05, 2023
Right
Fitting, proper, or appropriate
It is not right to leave the party without saying goodbye.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
To remove the errors or mistakes from
Corrected her previous testimony.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
To speak to or communicate with (someone) in order to point out a mistake or error.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Intended to be worn or positioned facing outward or toward an observer
The right side of the dress.
Made sure that the right side of the fabric was visible.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
To remedy or counteract (a defect, for example)
The new glasses corrected his blurry vision.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Of, belonging to, located on, or being the side of the body to the south when the subject is facing east.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
To adjust so as to meet a required standard or condition
Correct the wheel alignment on a car.
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Right
Located on the right side of a person facing downstream
The right bank of a river.
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Correct
To make adjustments; compensate
Correcting for the effects of air resistance.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Formed by or in reference to a line or plane that is perpendicular to another line or plane.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
Free from error; true; accurate.
Your test was completely correct, you get 10 out of 10
We all agreed they'd made the correct decision.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
With good manners; well behaved; conforming with accepted standards of behaviour.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
(transitive) To make something that was wrong become right; to remove error from.
You'll need to correct your posture if you're going to be a professional dancer.
The navigator corrected the course of the ship.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
To grade (examination papers).
The teacher stayed up all night correcting exams.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
(transitive) To inform (someone) of their error.
It's rude to correct your parents.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
Set right, or made straight; hence, conformable to truth, rectitude, or propriety, or to a just standard; not faulty or imperfect; free from error; as, correct behavior; correct views.
Always use the most correct editions.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
The people and groups who advocate the adoption of conservative or reactionary measures, especially in government and politics. Also called right wing.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
To make right; to bring to the standard of truth, justice, or propriety; to rectify; as, to correct manners or principles.
This is a defect in the first make of some men's minds which can scarce ever be corrected afterwards.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
To remove or retrench the faults or errors of; to amend; to set right; as, to correct the proof (that is, to mark upon the margin the changes to be made, or to make in the type the changes so marked).
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
To bring back, or attempt to bring back, to propriety in morals; to reprove or punish for faults or deviations from moral rectitude; to chastise; to discipline; as, a child should be corrected for lying.
My accuser is my 'prentice; and when I did correct him for his fault the other day, he did vow upon his knees he would be even with me.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
To counteract the qualities of one thing by those of another; - said of whatever is wrong or injurious; as, to correct the acidity of the stomach by alkaline preparations.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Something that is due to a person or governmental body by law, tradition, or nature.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
Make reparations or amends for;
Right a wrongs done to the victims of the Holocaust
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Right
Something, especially humane treatment, claimed to be due to animals by moral principle.
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Right
An existing stockholder's legally protected claim to purchase additional shares in a corporation ahead of those who are not currently stockholders, especially at a cost lower than market value.
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
Adjust or make up for;
Engineers will work to correct the effects or air resistance
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
Punish in order to gain control or enforce obedience;
The teacher disciplined the pupils rather frequently
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
Alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard;
Adjust the clock, please
Correct the alignment of the front wheels
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
Free from error; especially conforming to fact or truth;
The correct answer
The correct version
The right answer
Took the right road
The right decision
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
Socially right or correct;
It isn't right to leave the party without saying goodbye
Correct behavior
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
In accord with accepted standards of usage or procedure;
What's the right word for this?
The right way to open oysters
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Oct 19, 2023
Correct
Appropriate or suitable in the circumstances.
She wore the correct attire for the formal event.
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Dec 05, 2023
Right
To put in or restore to an upright or proper position
They righted their boat.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
To put in order or set right; correct
Measures designed to right generations of unfair labor practices.
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Right
(geometry) Of an angle, having a size of 90 degrees, or one quarter of a complete rotation; the angle between two perpendicular lines.
The kitchen counter formed a right angle with the back wall.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
(geometry) Of a geometric figure, incorporating a right angle between edges, faces, axes, etc.
A right triangle, a right prism, a right cone
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Complying with justice, correctness or reason; correct, just, true.
I thought you'd made a mistake, but it seems you were right all along.
It's not right that one person gets all the credit for the group's work.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Appropriate, perfectly suitable; fit for purpose.
Is this the right software for my computer?
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Healthy, sane, competent.
I'm afraid my father is no longer in his right mind.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Real; veritable (used emphatically).
You've made a right mess of the kitchen!
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Designating the side of the body which is positioned to the east if one is facing north. This arrow points to the reader's right: →
After the accident, her right leg was slightly shorter than her left.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
(geography) Designating the bank of a river (etc.) on one's right when facing downstream (i.e. facing forward while floating with the current); that is, the south bank of a river that flows eastward. If this arrow: ⥴ shows the direction of the current, the tilde is on the right side of the river.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Designed to be placed or worn outward.
The right side of a piece of cloth
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Exactly, precisely.
The arrow landed right in the middle of the target.
Luckily we arrived right at the start of the film.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Immediately, directly.
Can't you see it? It's right beside you!
Tom was standing right in front of the TV, blocking everyone's view.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Very, extremely, quite.
I made a right stupid mistake there, didn't I?
I stubbed my toe a week ago and it still hurts right much.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
To a great extent or degree.
Sir, I am right glad to meet you …
Members of the Queen's Privy Council are styled The Right Honourable for life.
The Right Reverend Monsignor Guido Sarducci.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Signpost word to change the subject in a discussion or discourse.
- After that interview, I don't think we should hire her.
- Right — who wants lunch?
- Right — who wants lunch?
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Used to check agreement at the end of an utterance.
You're going, right?
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
That which complies with justice, law or reason.
We're on the side of right in this contest.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
A legal, just or moral entitlement.
You have no right to go through my personal diary.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
The right side or direction.
The pharmacy is just on the right past the bookshop.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
The authority to perform, publish, film, or televise a particular work, event, etc.; a copyright.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
(politics) The ensemble of right-wing political parties; political conservatives as a group.
The political right holds too much power.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
The outward or most finished surface, as of a coin, piece of cloth, a carpet, etc.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
(surfing) A wave breaking from right to left (viewed from the shore).
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
(transitive) To correct.
Righting all the wrongs of the war immediately will be impossible.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
(transitive) To set upright.
The tow-truck righted what was left of the automobile.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
(intransitive) To return to normal upright position.
When the wind died down, the ship righted.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
(transitive) To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; to restore rights to; to assert or regain the rights of.
To right the oppressed
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Upright; erect from a base; having an upright axis; not oblique; as, right ascension; a right pyramid or cone.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Fit; suitable; proper; correct; becoming; as, the right man in the right place; the right way from London to Oxford.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Conformed to the constitution of man and the will of God, or to justice and equity; not deviating from the true and just; according with truth and duty; just; true.
That which is conformable to the Supreme Rule is absolutely right, and is called right simply without relation to a special end.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Characterized by reality or genuineness; real; actual; not spurious.
In this battle, . . . the Britons never more plainly manifested themselves to be right barbarians.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
According with truth; passing a true judgment; conforming to fact or intent; not mistaken or wrong; not erroneous; correct; as, this is the right faith.
You are right, Justice, and you weigh this well.
If there be no prospect beyond the grave, the inference is . . . right, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Most favorable or convenient; fortunate.
The lady has been disappointed on the right side.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Of or pertaining to that side of the body in man on which the muscular action is usually stronger than on the other side; - opposed to left when used in reference to a part of the body; as, the right side, hand, arm. Also applied to the corresponding side of the lower animals.
Became the sovereign's favorite, his right hand.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Well placed, disposed, or adjusted; orderly; well regulated; correctly done.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Designed to be placed or worn outward; as, the right side of a piece of cloth.
"Right," cries his lordship.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
In a right or straight line; directly; hence; straightway; immediately; next; as, he stood right before me; it went right to the mark; he came right out; he followed right after the guide.
Unto Dian's temple goeth she right.
Let thine eyes look right on.
Right across its track there lay,Down in the water, a long reef of gold.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
According to the law or will of God; conforming to the standard of truth and justice; righteously; as, to live right; to judge right.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
According to any rule of art; correctly.
You with strict discipline instructed right.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
According to fact or truth; actually; truly; really; correctly; exactly; as, to tell a story right.
Right as it were a steed of Lumbardye.
His wounds so smarted that he slept right naught.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
In a great degree; very; wholly; unqualifiedly; extremely; highly; as, right humble; right noble; right valiant.
For which I should be right sorry.
[I] return those duties back as are right fit.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
That which is right or correct.
Seldom your opinions err;Your eyes are always in the right.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
A just judgment or action; that which is true or proper; justice; uprightness; integrity.
Long love to her has borne the faithful knight,And well deserved, had fortune done him right.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
That to which one has a just claim.
There are no rights whatever, without corresponding duties.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
That which one has a legal or social claim to do or to exact; legal power; authority; as, a sheriff has a right to arrest a criminal.
Born free, he sought his right.
Hast thou not right to all created things?
Men have no right to what is not reasonable.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
The right side; the side opposite to the left.
Led her to the Souldan's right.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
In some legislative bodies of Europe (as in France), those members collectively who are conservatives or monarchists. See Center, 5.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
The outward or most finished surface, as of a piece of cloth, a carpet, etc.
He should himself use it by right.
I should have been a woman by right.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
To bring or restore to the proper or natural position; to set upright; to make right or straight (that which has been wrong or crooked); to correct.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; to restore rights to; to assert or regain the rights of; as, to right the oppressed; to right one's self; also, to vindicate.
So just is God, to right the innocent.
All experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
To recover the proper or natural condition or position; to become upright.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Hence, to regain an upright position, as a ship or boat, after careening.
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
An abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature;
They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights
Certain rights can never be granted to the government but must be kept in the hands of the people
A right is not something that somebody gives you; it is something that nobody can take away
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
(frequently plural) the interest possessed by law or custom in some intangible thing;
Mineral rights
Film rights
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Location near or direction toward the right side; i.e. the side to the south when a person or object faces east;
He stood on the right
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Those who support political or social or economic conservatism; those who believe that things are better left unchanged
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Anything in accord with principles of justice;
He feels he is in the right
The rightfulness of his claim
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
The hand that is on the right side of the body;
He writes with his right hand but pitches with his left
Hit him with quick rights to the body
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Make reparations or amends for;
Right a wrongs done to the victims of the Holocaust
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Put in or restore to an upright position;
They righted the sailboat that had capsized
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Free from error; especially conforming to fact or truth;
The correct answer
The correct version
The right answer
Took the right road
The right decision
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the east when facing north;
My right hand
Right center field
A right-hand turn
The right bank of a river is the bank on your right side when you are facing downstream
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Socially right or correct;
It isn't right to leave the party without saying goodbye
Correct behavior
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
In conformance with justice or law or morality;
Do the right thing and confess
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Appropriate for a condition or occasion;
Everything in its proper place
The right man for the job
She is not suitable for the position
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
In or into a satisfactory condition;
Things are right again now
Put things right
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
In accord with accepted standards of usage or procedure;
What's the right word for this?
The right way to open oysters
Shumaila Saeed
Oct 19, 2023
Right
Of the side of cloth or clothing intended to face outward;
The right side of the cloth showed the pattern
Be sure your shirt is right side out
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Most suitable or right for a particular purpose;
A good time to plant tomatoes
The right time to act
The time is ripe for great sociological changes
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Toward or on the right; also used figuratively;
He looked right and left
The party has moved right
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
In the right manner;
Please do your job properly!
Can't you carry me decent?
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
(Southern regional intensive) very;
The baby is mighty cute
He's mighty tired
It is powerful humid
That boy is powerful big now
They have a right nice place
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
In accordance with moral or social standards;
That serves him right
Do right by him
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Oct 19, 2023
Right
Morally good, justified, or acceptable.
Standing up for the underprivileged is the right thing to do.
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Dec 05, 2023
Right
In accordance with law or morality.
Everyone has the right to freedom of speech.
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Dec 05, 2023
Right
On or to the side of the body that is east when one faces north.
She wears her watch on her right wrist.
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Dec 05, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
What does "right" imply in a statement?
"Right" often implies moral, ethical, or legal appropriateness.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
Is "right" subjective or objective?
"Right" can be both, depending on the context.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
Is "correct" used in subjective scenarios?
"Correct" is generally used in objective contexts with clear standards.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
Does "correct" always mean "right"?
Not always; "correct" is more about factual accuracy than ethical rightness.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
What does "correct" imply in a statement?
"Correct" implies that the statement is free from error and factually accurate.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
Can "correct" refer to moral correctness?
While it can, "correct" is more commonly used for factual accuracy.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
Does "right" always align with the law?
Not necessarily; "right" can sometimes be subjective or differ from legal standards.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
How is "correct" used in education?
It's often used to indicate the right answer or approach.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
Can "right" be used for factual correctness?
Yes, but it's more commonly used for ethical correctness.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
How is "right" used in politics?
It can refer to justice, fairness, or legal entitlements.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
Is "correct" a value judgment?
Not typically; it's more about conformance to standards.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
What does "right" convey in ethical discussions?
It conveys moral or ethical appropriateness.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
Is "right" always the opposite of wrong?
In ethical contexts, yes; but it can have other meanings.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
Can "right" be subjective in social contexts?
Yes, as different cultures might have varying notions of what's right.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
Are "correct" and "right" interchangeable in all contexts?
No, their usage depends on the context, especially factual vs. ethical scenarios.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
How does "correct" function in language?
"Correct" is often used in the context of linguistic or factual accuracy.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 05, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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