reform
Americannoun
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the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc..
social reform; spelling reform.
- Synonyms:
- amelioration, betterment, reformation, correction
- Antonyms:
- deterioration
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an instance of this.
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the amendment of conduct, belief, etc.
verb (used with object)
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to change to a better state, form, etc.; improve by alteration, substitution, abolition, etc.
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to cause (a person) to abandon wrong or evil ways of life or conduct.
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to put an end to (abuses, disorders, etc.).
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Chemistry. to subject to the process of reforming, as in refining petroleum.
verb (used without object)
adjective
verb
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(tr) to improve (an existing institution, law, practice, etc) by alteration or correction of abuses
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to give up or cause to give up a reprehensible habit or immoral way of life
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chem to change the molecular structure of (a hydrocarbon) to make it suitable for use as petrol by heat, pressure, and the action of catalysts
noun
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an improvement or change for the better, esp as a result of correction of legal or political abuses or malpractices
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a principle, campaign, or measure aimed at achieving such change
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improvement of morals or behaviour, esp by giving up some vice
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reformabilitynoun
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reformablenessnoun
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reformativenessnoun
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reformernoun
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self-reformnoun
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superreformnoun
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misreformverb
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antireformadjective
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prereformadjective
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proreformadjective
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reformableadjective
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reformativeadjective
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unreformableadjective
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unreformativeadjective
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reformativelyadverb
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reforminglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reformsimple
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reformssimple
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have reformedperfect
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has reformedperfect
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am reformingprogressive
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are reformingprogressive
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is reformingprogressive
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have been reformingperfect progressive
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has been reformingperfect progressive
Past
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reformedsimple
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had reformedperfect
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was reformingprogressive
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were reformingprogressive
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had been reformingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reform
First recorded in 1300–50; (for the verb) Middle English reformen, from Middle French reformer, Old French, from Latin refōrmāre; equivalent to re- + form; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
When you reform something, you change it for the better. If you're running for President, you might promise to reform government, although it's easier to promise reform than to actually accomplish it. If you take the parts of reform, re- and form, you can see that it means “to shape again.” We often use it to talk about correcting what's wrong in a system, and if you reform something, you make it better and more fair. Juvenile delinquents might be sent to reform school to become better people. Someone fighting alcoholism might try to reform her ways. It's not always about morals: in chemistry, you reform molecules by breaking them apart.
Vocabulary lists containing reform
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Shape Up: Form
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The Middle East and Central Asia - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Mazariegos has in recent months appeared at City Hall to advocate for charter reform, including increasing police accountability, expanding the size of the City Council and advocating for noncitizen voting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The plans for technical education reform will build on local initiatives like the MBacc, or Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, which was announced in 2023 by the now prime minister when he was the city's mayor.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Such press briefings have been in doubt as Warsh has looked to reform the Fed’s manner of communications.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
A representative for the youth movement said on Saturday that protesters presented the government with proposals to reform education and examinations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
The time-tested strategy of using those who epitomize moral virtue as symbols in racial justice campaigns is far more difficult to employ in efforts to reform the criminal justice system.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
The delays caused many to question why California, which has instituted a series of reforms in recent years designed to make voting easier and safer, lags behind other states in counting results.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Dilnot estimated his proposed reforms would cost between £1.3bn and £2.2bn a year.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The findings challenge a common argument that governments and businesses promote small lifestyle changes to shift attention away from more difficult reforms, such as transforming energy systems and regulating industry.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
Leaders of India's youth-led "Cockroach" movement said they would meet the government on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged legal reforms and swift punishment for those involved in exam paper leaks.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Panicked, the British government took MacMillan’s prescriptions to heart and, among other reforms, proposed a series of “allisland” scholarships for academically minded students to go to private high schools.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
A week later, he voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill, which reformed Medicaid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
By 2016, the group reformed as a trio with Bennett, Slayton and new member Jazzy Mejia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
There is cross-party agreement that the outdated system should be reformed, but no consensus as to how that should be done.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
French regulators granted a limited license to Binance to service local customers as the exchange tried to prove it had reformed from its early, freewheeling days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Was Mandela the same man who went to prison twenty-seven years before, or was this a different Mandela, a reformed Mandela?
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
When I was reforming public schools I sat in them every week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
"One way of reforming this rigid system is to start with our own families," said Norlina Rambu Jola Kalunga, 54, a noblewoman who inherited five atas when she married the son of a royal family.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
In 2002, Congress created the Election Assistance Commission to administer the Help America Vote Act, which assists states in reforming their elections.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Berg touts reforming healthcare as her first legislative priority, noting that she lived without medical coverage during the Covid-19 pandemic and has relied on MinnesotaCare, the state’s healthcare program for low-income people.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
All around him men were walking silently with their thoughts, reforming their lives, making resolutions.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
