reform
Americannoun
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reforms
plural
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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.
-
the amendment of conduct, belief, etc.
verb (used with object)
-
reforms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reformed,
past participle, past
-
reforming
present participle
-
to change to a better state, form, etc.; improve by alteration, substitution, abolition, etc.
-
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)
-
reforms,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reformed,
past participle, past
-
reforming
present participle
adjective
verb
-
(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
-
a principle, campaign, or measure aimed at achieving such change
-
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
-
had reformedperfect
-
was reformingprogressive
-
were reformingprogressive
-
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:
Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former Homeland Security official who led efforts to reform detention standards, said federal ownership of detention facilities isn’t, on its face, a bad idea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Many authorities said digital reform would help to balance future budgets, but warned technology alone would not solve wider funding pressures.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
He left in 1992 for Shenzhen, the buzzing heart of China's reform and opening-up experiment in the 1990s.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
His comments came as concerns grow about the immediate and long-term costs of university, with more students wanting to commute from home to save money and calls to reform student loan repayments.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The outrage about Guiteau boosted support for activists who had been working for years to reform the system, and the reformers gained enough votes in Congress to pass a bill.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
Last year’s student-loan reforms were a good start, but the regrettable reality is they didn’t go nearly far enough.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The reforms made the system "fairer for taxpayers across the country", ministers added.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The question is whether discussions will resume about possible transfer reforms that were discussed in April of 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
A highly-popular tech evangelist who pushed for reforms, Fedorov was dismissed in July in a divisive reshuffle that triggered unprecedented protests in his support.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Reverend Mokitimi sought to introduce reforms to the college.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
The university also hired a new provost and new deans and reformed its discipline policies to make them “more consistent, fair and effective,” Garber has said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Andy Burnham has told the BBC "the NHS will collapse" if social care is not reformed but said he could not put a timeline on changes.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
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
The deep dislike and distrust the Romans felt toward Cleopatra only increased when Caesar reformed the Roman calendar to match the Egyptian method of tracking the year.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
It also is calling for reforming the congressional budget process.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
On July 14, the Department of Health and Human Services began soliciting ideas for reforming Medicare’s physician payment system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 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
Burnham also said he "does not want to leave office" without reforming the social care system.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 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
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.
