reform

American  

[ri-fawrm] / rɪˈfɔrm /

noun

• reforms
  plural

1. the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc..

   social reform; spelling reform.

   Synonyms:

   amelioration, betterment, reformation, correction

   Antonyms:

   deterioration

2. an instance of this.

3. the amendment of conduct, belief, etc.

---

verb (used with object)

• reforms,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reformed,
  past participle,  past
• reforming
  present participle

1. to change to a better state, form, etc.; improve by alteration, substitution, abolition, etc.

   Synonyms:

   restore, repair, ameliorate, emend, amend, correct, rectify, better

2. to cause (a person) to abandon wrong or evil ways of life or conduct.

3. to put an end to (abuses, disorders, etc.).

4. Chemistry. to subject to the process of reforming, as in refining petroleum.

verb (used without object)

• reforms,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reformed,
  past participle,  past
• reforming
  present participle

1. to abandon evil conduct or error.

   The drunkard promised to reform.

adjective

1. (initial capital letter) of, relating to, or characteristic of Reform Jews or Reform Judaism.

   a Reform rabbi.

reform British  

/ rɪˈfɔːm /

verb

1. (tr) to improve (an existing institution, law, practice, etc) by alteration or correction of abuses

2. to give up or cause to give up a reprehensible habit or immoral way of life

3. 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

1. an improvement or change for the better, esp as a result of correction of legal or political abuses or malpractices

2. a principle, campaign, or measure aimed at achieving such change

3. improvement of morals or behaviour, esp by giving up some vice

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reformability
  noun
• reformableness
  noun
• reformativeness
  noun
• reformer
  noun
• self-reform
  noun
• superreform
  noun
• misreform
  verb
• antireform
  adjective
• prereform
  adjective
• proreform
  adjective
• reformable
  adjective
• reformative
  adjective
• unreformable
  adjective
• unreformative
  adjective
• reformatively
  adverb
• reformingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reforms
  plural

Participles

• reforming
  present
• reformed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• reform
  simple
• reforms
  simple
• have reformed
  perfect
• has reformed
  perfect
• am reforming
  progressive
• are reforming
  progressive
• is reforming
  progressive
• have been reforming
  perfect progressive
• has been reforming
  perfect progressive

Past

• reformed
  simple
• had reformed
  perfect
• was reforming
  progressive
• were reforming
  progressive
• had been reforming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will reform
  simple
• will have reformed
  perfect
• will be reforming
  progressive
• will have been reforming
  perfect progressive

---

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reform reforms reformed reforming

The reform will replace the widespread "6x1" system -- six days of work followed by one day off -- with a five-day week, gradually reducing the maximum working week from 44 to 40 hours.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Suk’s scholarship focuses on the processes of constitutional amendment and reform and the feminist constitutional movements.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

“It still needs reform, and I’ll fight for that reform as mayor.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

But with major reform some way off, fears are growing about the months ahead.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

“All that is needed to produce a complete Temperance and Social reform in this age of Moral Suasion, is for our Sex to cast their United influences into the balance,” she wrote for her speech.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Though experiences like theirs helped inspire these reforms, both Flynn and Varsha are somewhat sceptical of them.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

"That is why country strategies and compacts matter. Roadmaps built around a country's ambitions, the results we are trying to achieve together, and the investments and reforms required to get there," he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

The U.K. government has implemented a series of reforms to make London a more competitive place to list.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

That means only about 83% of all earnings covered by the program are subject to the payroll tax, compared with 90% in 1983, when the last major reforms to Social Security were passed.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 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

It said the government reformed the Electronic Communications Code because the cost of accessing land was becoming a "significant barrier" to building and upgrading the mobile networks across the UK.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Paris will never get its numbers to add up if such an expenditure can’t be debated or reformed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

He declined to rejoin the band when it reformed in 2001.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

"The health service needs reformed... but reform needs to be done appropriately and it needs to be done in conjunction with the public."

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

They came down at a hand gallop, through the rank or broke it, reformed, and came again.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

With 19 policymakers, it is difficult to make progress given diverse individual perspectives, strongly held views and the challenge of reforming such a complicated beast.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Now 27, she despairs when hearing another Cornell president talk about reforming the Greek system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

At present, hydrogen produced through methane-steam reforming costs about $1.50 per kilogram, while green hydrogen costs roughly $5 per kilogram.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

Ahead of the speech, the paper highlights ongoing questions around reforming the triple lock, under which pensions rise each year by the highest of inflation, average earnings or 2.5%.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Although Robben Island was becoming more open, there was as yet still no sign that the state was reforming its views.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• amend
• improve
• rebuild
• rehabilitate
• remake
• renovate
• reorganize
• repair
• resolve
• restore
• revise
• revolutionize
• standardize
• transform

---