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 WebGeorge 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
Braun proposed a bill in 2020 to reform qualified immunity, which protects police officers from most lawsuits stemming from work performed in the line of duty.
—Isabella Volmert, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2024
And when Lynne reformed the band in the 2000s, Tandy was the only other longtime member to return.
—Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 May 2024
President Joe Biden has been pushing Congress to reform gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons of the type police say Hughes fired at police, along with a national red flag law and expanded background checks for anyone buying a gun.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
The specter of the recall falling to the November ballot came, in part, as a consequence of newly reformed of election laws that Alameda County voters approved only two months ago.
—Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2024
The Cuban government blames the U.S. embargo for the situation, but for years has been unable to reform its socialist economy, which is centrally planned and bogged down by bureaucratic restrictions and mismanagement.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
Vik Jolly, Sacramento Bee, 15 May 2024
Periodic scandals drew public outrage and fueled reform movements.
—TIME, 14 May 2024
Buyer beware As a result of numerous SEC market reform initiatives, alternative trading systems now actively compete with traditional stock markets and in some securities capture the majority of daily trading.
—Richard Torrenzano, Fortune, 14 May 2024
As part of the social justice movement, our business choices should promote drug war reform.
—Summer Westerbur, Rolling Stone, 13 May 2024
Newsom did a shout-out for former state Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), who championed tax reform unsuccessfully for years.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2024
Johnston’s description of his hopes for the future of the STAR program under the new office echoed why many public safety reform advocates long have pushed for this change in Denver.
—Joe Rubino, The Denver Post, 13 May 2024
Addressing the significant achievement gap and persistent poverty cycle, this organization is rewriting the narrative for low-income students in the context of education reform.
—Brianna Kamienski, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024
But in New York there is neither a state legislator willing to champion reform nor are there powerful lobbying groups advocating on behalf of those in guardianship, many of whom live in assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
—Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 30 Apr. 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
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
Braun proposed a bill in 2020 to reform qualified immunity, which protects police officers from most lawsuits stemming from work performed in the line of duty.
—Isabella Volmert, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2024
And when Lynne reformed the band in the 2000s, Tandy was the only other longtime member to return.
—Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 May 2024
President Joe Biden has been pushing Congress to reform gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons of the type police say Hughes fired at police, along with a national red flag law and expanded background checks for anyone buying a gun.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
The specter of the recall falling to the November ballot came, in part, as a consequence of newly reformed of election laws that Alameda County voters approved only two months ago.
—Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2024
The Cuban government blames the U.S. embargo for the situation, but for years has been unable to reform its socialist economy, which is centrally planned and bogged down by bureaucratic restrictions and mismanagement.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
Noun
Newsom has banked his years-long homelessness and mental health care reform strategy on Proposition 1, which reconfigures the California Mental Health Services Act to redirect the majority of its funding from the counties to the state.
—Vik Jolly, Sacramento Bee, 15 May 2024
Periodic scandals drew public outrage and fueled reform movements.
—TIME, 14 May 2024
Buyer beware As a result of numerous SEC market reform initiatives, alternative trading systems now actively compete with traditional stock markets and in some securities capture the majority of daily trading.
—Richard Torrenzano, Fortune, 14 May 2024
As part of the social justice movement, our business choices should promote drug war reform.
—Summer Westerbur, Rolling Stone, 13 May 2024
Newsom did a shout-out for former state Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), who championed tax reform unsuccessfully for years.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2024
Johnston’s description of his hopes for the future of the STAR program under the new office echoed why many public safety reform advocates long have pushed for this change in Denver.
—Joe Rubino, The Denver Post, 13 May 2024
Addressing the significant achievement gap and persistent poverty cycle, this organization is rewriting the narrative for low-income students in the context of education reform.
—Brianna Kamienski, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024
But in New York there is neither a state legislator willing to champion reform nor are there powerful lobbying groups advocating on behalf of those in guardianship, many of whom live in assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
—Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 30 Apr. 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 20 May. 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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