What does hypercorrection mean?
A hypercorrection is a correction of something that was not actually wrong, or that was valid even if it differed from a prescribed standard. The term is especially associated with language, grammar, pronunciation, and dialect: a speaker might be accused of hypercorrection for insisting that a regional accent or traditional usage is erroneous. It can also describe excessive efforts to make a sentence more precise or stylistically polished. The word carries a critical tone and generally implies that the correction is unnecessary, pedantic, or self-important. It is therefore more evaluative than the neutral terms “correction” or “revision,” and it differs from an overcorrection, which may result in something excessively refined rather than the correction of a non-error. Recognizing hypercorrection can help distinguish genuine mistakes from legitimate variation in language.
nounThe act of correcting language or another form of expression that was not actually wrong, especially in a pedantic or overly zealous way. It may also refer to an instance of such a correction.
- The act of correcting something that was not actually wrong, especially in a pedantic or overly zealous manner.
- A correction of this kind, considered unnecessary or excessive.
"His insistence that the traditional pronunciation was incorrect was widely regarded as an unnecessary hypercorrection."
"The committee's repeated objections to the regional accent seemed to be little more than hypercorrection."
"Her change was labeled a hypercorrection because the original sentence already followed standard usage."
Used when referring to multiple unnecessary or pedantic corrections.
"The discussion focused on several hypercorrections that added little to the clarity of the text."
Sometimes the most confident grammatical correction is the one nobody needed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hypercorrection come from?
The word combines the prefix hyper-, meaning “excessive” or “beyond what is normal,” with correction, from Latin correctio, a noun derived from corrigere, “to put right” or “make straight.” The root ultimately goes back to Latin rectus, meaning “straight” or “right.” The compound entered English in the 20th century in discussions of language and grammar and developed its modern sense of an unnecessary or pedantic correction.
Related word forms
How hypercorrection is actually used
The term is usually critical and mildly disapproving. It is especially common in discussions of grammar, dialect, pronunciation, and language policing, where correcting a nonstandard but valid form may be treated as objectionable.
Easily confused with hypercorrection
An overcorrection may change something that was not wrong but makes the result excessively accurate or elaborate, whereas a hypercorrection specifically challenges language that was already acceptable.