Correctional

How to spell correctional

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce correctional

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does correctional mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the punishment and rehabilitation of convicted offenders, especially within prisons or supervised programmes.

Correctional in a sentence

• He spent twelve years working as an officer in a correctional facility.

• The state announced funding to modernise its ageing correctional system.

Where does correctional come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb corrigere, which meant 'to make straight, set right, or reform', formed from the intensive prefix com- and regere, meaning 'to lead straight or to rule'. The past participle correctus gave rise to the noun correctio, the act of putting something right, which passed through Old French and into English in the late Middle Ages as 'correction'. The adjective 'correctional', meaning 'relating to the correction of offenders', emerged later as institutions for punishment came to be framed as places of reform rather than mere confinement. The same regere root sits inside familiar relatives like 'direct', 'regent', and 'regular', all carrying the idea of guiding or ruling straight. For spelling, it helps to remember the doubled 'r' in 'correct' carries straight through, and that the ending is the noun '-ion' plus '-al', not a single '-tional' chunk.

How the word is built

• cor- (from com-, intensive)
• rect (from regere: to lead straight, rule)
• -ion (state/process)
• -al (adjective suffix)