right
/rʌɪt
/adjective
1Morally good, justified, or acceptable: I hope we’re doing the right thing [with infinitive]: you were quite right to criticize him...
- What I'm saying is, is it actually right, is it morally the right reason to legalise the drug?
- I believe a change would not only be right for the CIU, but also morally right.
- This scenario no doubt raises questions as to whether it is morally right for a teacher to date a pupil.
Synonyms
just, fair, equitable, good, upright, righteous, virtuous, proper, moral, morally justified, ethical, honourable, honest, principled;
lawful, legal
2True or correct as a fact: I’m not sure I know the right answer her theories were proved right...
- Yes, yes, everything you say is right and true, but something about it just didn't quite cut it.
- It would be much better for all of us if they just gave us the choice, and the right facts.
- Did Hemingway know the right answer and not reveal it before taking his own life?
2.1 [predicative] Correct in one’s opinion or judgement: she was right about Tom having no money...
- Not so, the masses are right to have their opinions and favourites - but that does not validate them.
- In my opinion, the Judge was right in the decision which he reached on the Second Issue.
- If the US is right, the doctrine is now established as part of the law of nations.
2.2According to what is correct for a particular situation: is this the right way to the cottage? you’re not holding it the right way up...
- He knew exactly what everyone had to do, who had to run where to make the right pass for that situation.
- If our attitude is right and everything goes according to plan, we could cause an upset.
- Tourism in York was now at about the right level according to the chairman of the English Tourism Board.
2.3Best or most appropriate for a particular situation: he was clearly the right man for the job I was waiting for the right moment to ask him...
- For me, he was the right man at the right moment, and it doesn't surprise me that he is heading their next World Cup bid.
- He was an outstanding communicator who offered the right briefing at the right moment.
- Only by getting to know oneself can one make the right choices at crucial moments, Lee said.
Synonyms
suitable, appropriate, acceptable, fitting, fit, correct, proper, desirable, preferable, ideal;
well suited, well qualified
opportune, advantageous, favourable, auspicious, propitious, promising, heaven-sent, golden, good, lucky, happy, fortunate, benign, providential, felicitous, timely, well timed, ripe, convenient, expedient, suitable, appropriate, apt, fitting
archaic seasonable
2.4Socially fashionable or important: he was seen at all the right places...
- It will be a great way to meet the right people and to get my foot in the door.
3 [predicative] In a satisfactory, sound, or normal state or condition: that sausage doesn’t smell right if only I could have helped put matters right...
- As the name suggests, this is a spectacular spring plant that will grow into a large clump if the conditions are right.
- Mr Allen said all the conditions were right for the AMRC in South Yorkshire to become a world leader.
- If weather conditions are right and the homemade snow settles, a snowball fight could be on the cards.
Synonyms
healthy, in good health, fine, hale, in good shape, in trim, in good trim, well, fit, fighting fit, normal, sound, up to par
informal up to scratch, in the pink
4On, towards, or relating to the side of a human body or of a thing which is to the east when the person or thing is facing north: my right elbow the right edge of the field...
- The woman grasps his ankles and the man places his left hand over her hip and props his body up with his right arm.
- She stood up, and balanced the basket on her hip though a stab of pain flashed up her body from her right leg.
- The first outwardly visible sign of change is in the body's right foot which has begun to spasm and move at the ankle.
Synonyms
right-hand, dextral, at three o'clock;
Nautical starboard;
Heraldry dexter
5 [attributive] British informal Complete; absolute (used for emphasis): I felt a right idiot...
- I'm having to eat it it with my hands now and I'm making a right mess of my keyboard, oh yes.
- On top of nicking my biscuits they had also made a right mess when they made the tea.
- Laois is in a right mess and it will take a lot more than Paudi Butler to sort it out.
Synonyms
absolute, complete, total, real, out-and-out, thorough, thoroughgoing, downright, perfect, utter, sheer, consummate, unmitigated, unqualified, veritable, in every respect, unalloyed
Australian/New Zealand informal fair
archaic arrant
6Relating to a person or group favouring conservative views: are you politically right, left, or centre?...
- How this fits in with far right Conservatives' rampant xenophobia is beyond me.
- Certainly Margaret Thatcher did not make many efforts to hide her extreme right views on immigration.
- He uses his magazine the Weekly Standard to promote his hard right views.
adverb
1To the furthest or most complete extent or degree (used for emphasis): the car spun right off the track I’m right out of ideas...
- So it involves making it easier for parents to get their cars right to the school door at the expense of those of us who choose to walk.
- You used to be able to drive in in your car and pull right up to the plane and get on the plane.
- We walked down Downing Street right up to Number 10 and visited the Tower of London.
Synonyms
completely, fully, entirely, totally, wholly, absolutely, altogether, utterly, thoroughly, quite;
all the way, to the maximum extent, to the hilt, in all respects, in every respect
1.1Exactly; directly (used to emphasize the precise location or time of something): Harriet was standing right behind her...
- I stood up, thanked the officers, and stumbled back to my room with Max right behind me.
- Mitchell nodded and hurried down the stairs with his friends right behind him.
- Turning on her heal she ran back the way they had come, Elliot right behind her.
Synonyms
exactly, precisely, directly, immediately, just, squarely, square, dead
informal bang, slap bang, smack, slap, plumb
North American informal smack dab
1.2 informal Without delaying or hesitating; immediately: I’ll be right back
Synonyms
straight, immediately, instantly, at once, straight away, right away, now, right now, this/that (very) minute, this/that instant, in/like a flash, directly, on the spot, forthwith, without further/more ado, promptly, quickly, without delay, then and there, there and then, here and now, a.s.a.p., as soon as possible, as quickly as possible, with all speed;
North American in short order;
French tout de suite
informal straight off, toot sweet, double quick, in double quick time, p.d.q. (pretty damn quick), pronto, before you can say Jack Robinson
North American informal lickety-split
Indian informal ekdam
archaic straightway, instanter, forthright
1.3 [as submodifier] dialect or archaic Very: it’s right spooky in there!...
- If you're on a tight budget, yet up for a right laddish drive, a coupe could well be for you.
- She's the one who gives you all your ideas and inspiration, but she's a right bad-tempered cow.
- They had directed traffic to ensure all the whites got a right good view of the action.
2Correctly: he had guessed right...
- If you guess right you will appear to be a genius, if you guess wrong you will look foolish.
- Well, dirty or not, and doing it right or not, we in Ireland have well and truly woken up to sex.
- The ship's control party did every thing exactly right even though they were hurt as well.
Synonyms
correctly, accurately, properly, exactly, precisely, aright, rightly, perfectly, unerringly, faultlessly, truly
2.1In the required or necessary way; satisfactorily: nothing’s going right for me this season...
- Obviously, if everything goes right we've got time to paint the car and all.
- If you expect to do everything right all of the time, then you can't afford to have a sense of humour.
- He tells me what he thinks: where the Conservatives are going right or wrong, what is good or silly.
Synonyms
justly, fairly, equitably, impartially, well, properly, morally, ethically, honourably, honestly, lawfully, legally
well, for the better, for the best, favourably, happily, advantageously, to one's advantage, beneficially, profitably, providentially, luckily, opportunely, conveniently, to one's satisfaction
3On or to the right side: turn right off the B1269...
- You control shot direction by moving a joystick left or right in the direction you want to place it.
- Walking through the hall, the eye is drawn left and right towards the side galleries.
- I was driving a car in London, turning right from a side road into a one way system.
noun
1 [mass noun] That which is morally correct, just, or honourable: she doesn’t understand the difference between right and wrong [count noun]: the rights and wrongs of the matter...
- There is a lifetime of joy and companionship to be had from owning a dog but he needs to learn right from wrong at an early stage.
- The point of punishment is to learn a lesson from it, to clearly see right from wrong.
- I believe it is nonsensical, and that God gave us the brains to know right from wrong.
Synonyms
goodness, rightness, righteousness, virtue, virtuousness, integrity, rectitude, uprightness, principle, propriety, morality, truth, truthfulness, honesty, honour, honourableness, justice, justness, fairness, equity, equitableness, impartiality;
lawfulness, legality
2A moral or legal entitlement to have or do something: [with infinitive]: she had every right to be angry you’re quite within your rights to ask for your money back [mass noun]: there is no right of appeal against the decision...
- The right to privacy must be found to encompass the inner domain of thought.
- Some claim that city surveillance is a violation of one's right to privacy.
- Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands have the right to self-determination enshrined in their constitutions.
Synonyms
entitlement, prerogative, privilege, advantage, due, birthright, liberty, authority, authorization, power, licence, permission, dispensation, leave, consent, warrant, charter, franchise, sanction, exemption, immunity, indemnity;
French carte blanche
Law, historical droit
2.1 (rights) The authority to perform, publish, film, or televise a particular work, event, etc. they sold the paperback rights...
- A sequel, Heart of Coal, has just been published and film rights have also been sold.
- Feature film rights to the novel have been kicked around Hollywood for some time, with Tom Cruise mooted to be involved.
- Marilyn Monroe had bought the film rights with a view to inviting Olivier to be her co-star and director.
3 (the right) The right-hand part, side, or direction: take the first turning on the right (one's right) she seated me on her right...
- It took me a while to start it because the ignition was on the left side instead of the right.
- The second shot requires to be hit over the cross bunkers avoiding the River West Water on the right.
- The picture was brought in by Bill Cordukes, who can be seen on the second row from the front on the right.
3.1(In football or a similar sport) the right-hand half of the field when facing the opponent’s goal: they made a neat series of passes over on the right...
- He needs ball winners of the quality of Keano to allow him to play down the right.
- Seven minutes later, a ball from midfield caught out Alcide and saw the pacy Gordon bear down on goal on the right.
- Within a minute Scott Barley made a low diving header following a cross from the right for goal number four.
3.2The right wing of an army: the allies succeeded in overrunning the French right
3.3A right turn: he made a right in Dorchester Avenue...
- The next challenge is a high speed right, nerves of steel will be required for this one.
- Somebody got ready to pit and Riggs obviously didn't know about it and slammed the brakes on and hung a right on me.
3.4A road or entrance on the right: take the first right over the stream
3.5A person’s right fist, especially a boxer’s: he ducked down low then brought up his right
3.6A blow given with the right fist: the young copper swung a terrific right...
- Instead he countered with two lefts to the body, a right to the head and a left to the jaw.
4 (often the Right) [treated as singular or plural] A group or party favouring conservative views and supporting capitalist principles: the Right got in at the election his proposal was viewed with alarm by the right of the party...
- It's funny how bothered the Right gets about any large leftist demo, perhaps feeling a little threatened.
- The Right has done a wonderful job of making themselves seem like the victim when they are the ones running the show.
- What is difficult to understand is why so much deference is paid to the threats from the Right.
verb
1 [with object] Restore to a normal or upright position: we righted the capsized dinghy...
- She was a little dizzy from being righted to a standing position and Wrenn steadied her.
- The boat capsized once but righted itself in minutes.
- With a practised flip, he righted the dinghy and held it steady while we clambered aboard.
Synonyms
turn the right way up again, turn back over, set upright again, stand upright again
2Restore to a normal or correct state: righting the economy demanded major cuts in defence spending...
- The harsh figures fly in the face of the bland assurances by certain economists and politicians that the US economy was righting itself after a temporary setback early in the year.
- In the long run, such a change has the promise of both righting the economy and undoing social wrongs.
- Given the progress that businesses have already made and the improving fundamentals for growth, the industrial sector - and the overall economy - may not be too far from righting itself.
Synonyms
remedy, put right, set right, put to rights, set to rights, rectify, retrieve, solve, fix, resolve, sort out, put in order;
straighten out, deal with, correct, repair, mend, redress, make good;
improve, amend, ameliorate, make better, better
2.1Redress or rectify (a wrong or mistaken action): she was determined to right the wrongs done to her father...
- Treaty settlements - righting the wrongs of the past - have accounted for about 0.1% of total government spending in the past five years.
- And, let's face it, as well, I think, at that time, I also was attracted to the notion of being a trial lawyer, a courtroom lawyer, going in and righting the wrongs and defending the unjustly accused.
- Now, 50 years after his death, Emmett Till has inspired a documentary aimed at righting a historic wrong.
Synonyms
rectify, correct, put right, set right, make right, sort out, deal with, remedy, repair, fix, cure, resolve, settle, square, make amends for;
avenge, vindicate
2.2 archaic Make reparation to (someone) for a wrong done to them: we’ll see you righted
exclamation informal
1Used to indicate agreement or to acknowledge a statement or order: ‘Barry’s here.’ ‘Oh, right’ right you are, sir
1.1Used at the end of a statement to invite agreement, approval, or confirmation: you went to see Angie on Monday, right?...
- Both of the things he said had to be questions surely, I mean, French is not that different right?
- As long as he keeps his ugly face off screen, leaving only his annoying voice that is acceptable, right?
- After the game Devon would be telling his mystery girl his true feelings, right?
1.2Used as a filler in speech or to introduce an utterance or exhortation: right, let’s have a drink and I didn’t think any more of it, right, but Mum said I should take him to a doctor
Phrases
bang (or dead) to rights
be in the right
by rights
do right by
in one's own right
(not) in one's right mind
not right in the head
(as) of right (or by right)
on the right side of
the right stuff
put (or set) someone right
put (or set) something to rights
(as) right as rain
right away
right enough
right on
a right one
she's (or she'll be) right
too right
Derivatives
rightable
righter
- Sure, some animal righters have noble intentions.
- In his eagerness to draw a connection between Jeffersonian states' righters, nullifiers, and secessionists, McDonald downplays the Jeffersonians' democratic commitments and casts southern secessionists as ‘libertarians.’
- Far righters Phyllis Schlafly and James Dobson recently accused feminists of declaring a war on boys.
rightish
- Ah, as usual, there is the wisdom of country/western lyrics; ‘Thank God for unanswered prayers’ I've thought more than once as I turned from my leftish past to my rightish present.
- And as for the leftish flavor of Wright's messages, God knows the rightish ministers feel free to preach about social and political issues, so I suppose turnabout is fair play.
- If I had my way, there would be a much higher skepticism quotient in general with regards to politicians, whether rightish or leftish (I often think that their very appetite for power disqualifies them from ever having it).
rightless
- The ‘right to humanitarian interference’ might be described as a sort of ‘return to sender’: the disused rights that had been sent to the rightless are sent back to the senders.
- Such membership then permitted the dominant society to make the slaves ‘rightless.’ The slaves were also designated by masters as ignorant, backward, lazy, and untrustworthy, among many other negative characteristics.
- The anti-government people strongly believe that the powers that be want to take their guns away and make them into rightless people.
Origin
Old English riht (adjective and noun), rihtan (verb), rihte (adverb), of Germanic origin; related to Latin rectus 'ruled', from an Indo-European root denoting movement in a straight line.
The root meaning of right is not a turn or side but movement in a straight line—the first senses were ‘straight, not curved’ and ‘direct, straight to the destination’ as well as ‘morally good, just’ and ‘true, correct’. Right as in the opposite of left is a later meaning that dates from the 13th century. The political application originated in the French National Assembly of 1789, in which the nobles as a body took the position of honour on the president's right, and the Third Estate—the French bourgeoisie and working class—sat on his left. A person who holds right-wing views of the most extreme kind can be described as being somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan. This expression uses Genghis Khan (1162–1227), the founder of the Mongol Empire, as a supreme example of a repressive and tyrannical ruler. The name of the early 5th-century warlord Attila the Hun, an equally dominant and brutal figure, is sometimes substituted for Genghis. See also dexter, rectangle, sinister