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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

In response to an essay by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Nicholas L. Syrett about why it is so difficult to reform fraternities, readers debated the merits and deficiencies of the institution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Someone may distrust the industrial food system while enthusiastically supporting an administration promising to reform it.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026

McGuire pointed out the legislative exemption as part of broader reform of the law that exempted certain housing projects and other trails.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

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

“Re-entry” was listed, but a community leader who was interested in criminal justice reform had to check the box labeled “other.”

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

According to the White House, the aim is to support policy reforms to ensure that women’s research is well-funded and that women have access to “stage-specific prevention, diagnoses, treatment, and care.”

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026

“Despite the announced reforms, significant concerns remain around market dysfunction, including continued suspected coordinated trading behavior and lack of evidence of meaningful enforcement.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● 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

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

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Reverend Mokitimi sought to introduce reforms to the college.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Many of them can be reformed at no cost.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 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

Bonehill-Pine said he reformed his previous views when he learned of the murder of MP Jo Cox, and subsequently undertook a de-radicalisation programme.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

And even that I only knew because the camp controllers had strung up pictures of his son, Clancy, all over camp as proof to us that we, too, could be reformed.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

After college, he founded a think tank dedicated to reforming government.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

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

That conventional process, known as methane-steam reforming, releases carbon dioxide while producing hydrogen.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

The aim is to introduce more transparency to this practice as a prelude to reforming it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

All around him men were walking silently with their thoughts, reforming their lives, making resolutions.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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Related Words

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

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