different between rectify vs straighten

English

Etymology

From Middle English rectifien, from Anglo-Norman rectifiier, rectefier (“to make straight”), from Medieval Latin r?ctific? (“to make right”), from Latin r?ctus (“straight”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???kt??fa?/

Verb

rectify (third-person singular simple present rectifies, present participle rectifying, simple past and past participle rectified)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To heal (an organ or part of the body). [14th-18th c.]
2. (transitive) To restore (someone or something) to its proper condition; to straighten out, to set right. [from 16th c.]
3. (transitive) To remedy or fix (an undesirable state of affairs, situation etc.). [from 15th c.]

4. (transitive, chemistry) To purify or refine (a substance) by distillation. [from 15th c.]
5. (transitive) To correct or amend (a mistake, defect etc.). [from 16th c.]
6. (transitive, now rare) To correct (someone who is mistaken). [from 16th c.]
   • 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, I.3:

     For thus their Sense informeth them, and herein their Reason cannot Rectifie them; and therefore hopelessly continuing in mistakes, they live and die in their absurdities […]

7. (transitive, geodesy, historical) To adjust (a globe or sundial) to prepare for the solution of a proposed problem. [from 16th c.]
8. (transitive, electronics) To convert (alternating current) into direct current. [from 19th c.]
9. (transitive, mathematics) To determine the length of a curve included between two limits.
10. (transitive) To produce (as factitious gin or brandy) by redistilling bad wines or strong spirits (whisky, rum, etc.) with flavourings.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:repair

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• certify, cretify

English

Etymology

From straight +? -en. Compare Scots strauchten (“to straighten”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?st?e?tn?/
• Hyphenation: straight?en
• Rhymes: -e?t?n

Verb

straighten (third-person singular simple present straightens, present participle straightening, simple past and past participle straightened)

1. (transitive) To cause to become straight.
2. (intransitive) To become straight.
3. (transitive) To put in order; to sort; to tidy up.

   to straighten one's affairs, or an account
4. (transitive) To clarify a situation or concept to (an audience).
5. (transitive, slang) To bribe or corrupt.
6. (intransitive) To stand up, especially from a sitting position.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• straiten

Anagrams

• astringeth, shattering