reformed; reforming; reforms
1
a
: to put or change into an improved form or condition
b
: to amend or improve by change of form or removal of faults or abuses
2
: to put an end to (an evil) by enforcing or introducing a better method or course of action
3
: to induce or cause to abandon evil ways
reform a drunkard
4
a
: to subject (hydrocarbons) to cracking
b
: to produce (gasoline, gas, etc.) by cracking
: to become changed for the better
1
: amendment of what is defective, vicious, corrupt, or depraved
2
: removal or correction of errors or of an abuse or a wrong
3
capitalized
: reform judaism
1
: relating to or favoring reform
All of the great American reform movements—from civil rights to child-labor laws—started far from Washington, D.C. In state legislatures and town halls …—
William Greider
William Greider2
Reform
: of, relating to, or practicing Reform Judaism
Reform Jews, by the end of the nineteenth century, had adopted the custom of rising to their feet to pronounce the Shema in unison.—Jonathan D. Sarna
Jonathan D. Sarna
re-formed; re-forming; re-forms
: to form again
: to take form again
the ice re-formed on the lake
Synonyms
Examples of reform in a Sentence
Verb (1)
The program is designed to reform prisoners.
They want to reform campaign spending.
The laws need to be reformed.
The program is designed to help former gang members who are trying to reform.
Noun
A group of senators are calling for reform of the nation's health-care system.
He has proposed a list of political reforms.
Recent Examples on the WebAndrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024
Administration officials have frequently urged Congress to reform the U.S. immigration system, warning that any executive action could be held up in court because of legal challenges.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 23 May 2024
Exhausted by her son’s illicit activities, Patricio’s mother goes into self-exile and begs the boy to travel to Chile’s south to reform himself.
—Jamie Lang, Variety, 17 May 2024
Biden administration officials continue to urge Congress to reform the system more broadly, suggesting the announcement Thursday is more of a patch to the broader issue of soaring court backlogs.
—Quinn Owen, ABC News, 16 May 2024
Maryland officials on Wednesday awarded more than $3 million to a Baltimore man who served 31 years in prison before he was exonerated, the largest such payment under a 2021 law that reformed how the state compensates people who have been wrongfully convicted.
—Sam Janesch, Baltimore Sun, 1 May 2024
But California’s antiquated tax system can’t be reformed and made less volatile without flattening the tax base.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2024
This year, the policy objective — reform local zoning rules to spur development — returned.
—Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post, 10 May 2024
Arbitration should be preserved to continue these benefits and reformed to correct its shortcomings.
—Lewis L. Maltby, Fortune, 9 May 2024
Lauren J. Mapp, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2024
There is a danger, however, in making an inside-the-Beltway reform a top priority.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 25 May 2024
Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, was the lead GOP negotiator on police reform and had authored a bill of his own after Floyd's death that was blocked by Senate Democrats at a time when many in their party supported a farther-reaching effort of their own.
—Hunter Woodall, CBS News, 25 May 2024
In a revolutionary step, Nightingale extended her statistical methods and data visualization to other areas, ranging from hospital administration and health care management to public sanitary reform and the sources of preventable diseases.
—Melissa Pritchard, Discover Magazine, 24 May 2024
The European Transport Safety Council, a nonprofit advocating in favor of traffic safety free reform, estimates ISA tech could reduce collisions and deaths in the region by as much as 30% and 20% respectively.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 23 May 2024
Faced with pressure for broad business reforms from the likes of Democratic presidential hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the Business Roundtable, then chaired by Dimon, embraced stakeholder capitalism.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune, 22 May 2024
But Democrats say the reform is necessary after a lengthy investigation by their House Oversight Committee staff found that Trump’s businesses received nearly $8 million from 20 foreign governments during his presidency.
—Farnoush Amiri, Twin Cities, 21 May 2024
Sanders has rallied for dental reforms for more than a decade.
—Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 20 May 2024
Arkansas Online, 27 Nov. 2022
Three of the seven candidates in Iran’s presidential election dropped out days before the June 18 vote, leaving just one pro-reform contender and helping hardline frontrunner Ebrahim Raisi consolidate his support.
—Arsalan Shahla, Bloomberg.com, 16 June 2021
Farhad Meysami was released from prison on Friday, according to the Iranian pro-reform outlet Shargh Daily.
—Jonny Hallam, CNN, 10 Feb. 2023
According to the Associated Press, Akbari served as deputy defense minister under President Mohammad Khatami — a pro-reform cleric who came to power in 1997 — until 2001.
—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2023
Iran’s parliament and judiciary are reviewing the country’s mandatory hijab law, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri told a pro-reform outlet.
—Alexandra Meeks, CNN, 5 Dec. 2022
In a video obtained by CNN via the pro-reform activist outlet Iran Wire, two uniformed officers can be seen in what appears to be an attempt to arrest a protester.
—Niamh Kennedy, CNN, 30 Oct. 2022
Sources inside the prison told pro-reform outlet IranWire that guards fired tear gas all night after the fire broke out.
—Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN, 17 Oct. 2022
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2024
This also gives the two of them the space to Talk It Out, re-forming the Warder bond Moiraine broke at the beginning of the season (still fuzzy on the mechanics of that) and rededicating themselves to the support of the Dragon Reborn.
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 6 Oct. 2023
The structure in bread dough comes from gluten, which forms when the proteins in flour mix with water and break apart, then re-form in a strong network.
—Genevieve Ko, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023
These materials can then be melted and remade again and again because the cross-linkers can break and re-form their bonds.
—Susan Cosier, Scientific American, 9 Sep. 2023
Sixty-odd years ago, Oregon was part of another conference realignment when the Pacific Coast Conference — a precursor of the Pac-12 — dissolved and re-formed without Oregon or Oregon State.
—Ken Goe For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 2 Sep. 2023
In the Bellingshausen Sea, the home of the penguin colonies in this study, sea ice didn’t start to re-form until late April 2023.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 25 Aug. 2023
The mass exodus on Pitch-Black Friday left a quartet of schools and one gigantic question behind: Will Stanford and Cal link arms with Oregon State and Washington State to re-form the Pac-12 through possible raids of the Mountain West and American conferences?
—Jon Wilner | , oregonlive, 11 Aug. 2023
The water streaming down from the Sierra Nevada has inundated vast farmlands in the southern San Joaquin Valley, re-forming Tulare Lake, which according to state officials now covers more than 113,000 acres, an area nearly as large as Lake Tahoe.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2023
Verb
The senator campaigned in 2022 on his desire to reform the immigration system and personally warned Biden in mid-December not to fold to the GOP.
—Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024
Administration officials have frequently urged Congress to reform the U.S. immigration system, warning that any executive action could be held up in court because of legal challenges.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 23 May 2024
Exhausted by her son’s illicit activities, Patricio’s mother goes into self-exile and begs the boy to travel to Chile’s south to reform himself.
—Jamie Lang, Variety, 17 May 2024
Biden administration officials continue to urge Congress to reform the system more broadly, suggesting the announcement Thursday is more of a patch to the broader issue of soaring court backlogs.
—Quinn Owen, ABC News, 16 May 2024
Maryland officials on Wednesday awarded more than $3 million to a Baltimore man who served 31 years in prison before he was exonerated, the largest such payment under a 2021 law that reformed how the state compensates people who have been wrongfully convicted.
—Sam Janesch, Baltimore Sun, 1 May 2024
But California’s antiquated tax system can’t be reformed and made less volatile without flattening the tax base.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2024
This year, the policy objective — reform local zoning rules to spur development — returned.
—Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post, 10 May 2024
Arbitration should be preserved to continue these benefits and reformed to correct its shortcomings.
—Lewis L. Maltby, Fortune, 9 May 2024
Noun
All of this was festering when the demonstration for police reform and racial justice began on May 30, 2020.
—Lauren J. Mapp, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2024
There is a danger, however, in making an inside-the-Beltway reform a top priority.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 25 May 2024
Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, was the lead GOP negotiator on police reform and had authored a bill of his own after Floyd's death that was blocked by Senate Democrats at a time when many in their party supported a farther-reaching effort of their own.
—Hunter Woodall, CBS News, 25 May 2024
In a revolutionary step, Nightingale extended her statistical methods and data visualization to other areas, ranging from hospital administration and health care management to public sanitary reform and the sources of preventable diseases.
—Melissa Pritchard, Discover Magazine, 24 May 2024
The European Transport Safety Council, a nonprofit advocating in favor of traffic safety free reform, estimates ISA tech could reduce collisions and deaths in the region by as much as 30% and 20% respectively.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 23 May 2024
Faced with pressure for broad business reforms from the likes of Democratic presidential hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the Business Roundtable, then chaired by Dimon, embraced stakeholder capitalism.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune, 22 May 2024
But Democrats say the reform is necessary after a lengthy investigation by their House Oversight Committee staff found that Trump’s businesses received nearly $8 million from 20 foreign governments during his presidency.
—Farnoush Amiri, Twin Cities, 21 May 2024
Sanders has rallied for dental reforms for more than a decade.
—Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 20 May 2024
Adjective
In a letter, 140 ophthalmologists raised concerns about a rising number of patients with severe eye injuries resulting from being shot with metal pellets and rubber bullets, according to pro-reform Iranian news site Sobhema and Iran International as well as other sites on social media.
—Arkansas Online, 27 Nov. 2022
Three of the seven candidates in Iran’s presidential election dropped out days before the June 18 vote, leaving just one pro-reform contender and helping hardline frontrunner Ebrahim Raisi consolidate his support.
—Arsalan Shahla, Bloomberg.com, 16 June 2021
Farhad Meysami was released from prison on Friday, according to the Iranian pro-reform outlet Shargh Daily.
—Jonny Hallam, CNN, 10 Feb. 2023
According to the Associated Press, Akbari served as deputy defense minister under President Mohammad Khatami — a pro-reform cleric who came to power in 1997 — until 2001.
—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2023
Iran’s parliament and judiciary are reviewing the country’s mandatory hijab law, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri told a pro-reform outlet.
—Alexandra Meeks, CNN, 5 Dec. 2022
In a video obtained by CNN via the pro-reform activist outlet Iran Wire, two uniformed officers can be seen in what appears to be an attempt to arrest a protester.
—Niamh Kennedy, CNN, 30 Oct. 2022
Sources inside the prison told pro-reform outlet IranWire that guards fired tear gas all night after the fire broke out.
—Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN, 17 Oct. 2022
Verb
Over the years, the group has re-formed in various incarnations, but Pylon Reenactment Society, which played Cooper’s BBQ Friday night, isn’t quite a reunion or revival.
—Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2024
This also gives the two of them the space to Talk It Out, re-forming the Warder bond Moiraine broke at the beginning of the season (still fuzzy on the mechanics of that) and rededicating themselves to the support of the Dragon Reborn.
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 6 Oct. 2023
The structure in bread dough comes from gluten, which forms when the proteins in flour mix with water and break apart, then re-form in a strong network.
—Genevieve Ko, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023
These materials can then be melted and remade again and again because the cross-linkers can break and re-form their bonds.
—Susan Cosier, Scientific American, 9 Sep. 2023
Sixty-odd years ago, Oregon was part of another conference realignment when the Pacific Coast Conference — a precursor of the Pac-12 — dissolved and re-formed without Oregon or Oregon State.
—Ken Goe For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 2 Sep. 2023
In the Bellingshausen Sea, the home of the penguin colonies in this study, sea ice didn’t start to re-form until late April 2023.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 25 Aug. 2023
The mass exodus on Pitch-Black Friday left a quartet of schools and one gigantic question behind: Will Stanford and Cal link arms with Oregon State and Washington State to re-form the Pac-12 through possible raids of the Mountain West and American conferences?
—Jon Wilner | , oregonlive, 11 Aug. 2023
The water streaming down from the Sierra Nevada has inundated vast farmlands in the southern San Joaquin Valley, re-forming Tulare Lake, which according to state officials now covers more than 113,000 acres, an area nearly as large as Lake Tahoe.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reform.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Reform.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reform. Accessed 3 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
reform
1 of 3 verb
re·form
ri-ˈfȯ(ə)rm 
1
: to make better by removal of faults
reform a prisoner
2
: to correct or improve one's own behavior or habits
reform
2 of 3 noun1
: improvement in what is bad
2
: a removal or correction of an abuse, a wrong, or errors
re-form
3 of 3 verb(ˈ)rē-ˈfȯ(ə)rm
: to form again
the ice re-formed on the lake
Legal Definition
reform
transitive verb
re·form
ri-ˈfȯrm
1
: to put (a writing) into a corrected form that more accurately reflects the agreement of the parties
allows a writing signed by mistake to be reformed—W. M. McGovern, Jr. et al.
compare ratify
W. M. McGovern, Jr. et al.2
: to induce or cause to abandon wrongful or harmful ways
a reformed drug dealer
: to become changed for the better
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