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.
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Recent Examples on the WebTaryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023
The popular event focuses on advocating and reforming marijuana laws at the local, state, and federal levels.
—Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 11 Sep. 2023
The University of Virginia Health System and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis both reformed their collections policies after reporting from the nonprofit news outlets KFF Health News, ProPublica and MLK50 revealed the hospitals had sued thousands of former patients.
—Casey Tolan, CNN, 8 Sep. 2023
Yet the movement to reform police has effectively stalled.
—Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 4 Sep. 2023
Sam Young, a former lay bishop who rallied to reform the sometimes-explicit questions in church leaders’ interviews with youths, was ousted in 2018.
—Peggy Fletcher Stack, The Salt Lake Tribune, 3 Sep. 2023
The shake up of higher education rankings induced U.S. News to reform its methodology for its law school rankings in January.
—Alexa Gagosz, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Aug. 2023
In fact, the development of a U.S. CBDC is an opportunity to reconsider and reform the increasing risk to privacy posed by the status quo of large-scale, centralized platforms.
—J. Christopher Giancarlo, Fortune Crypto, 22 Aug. 2023
India has pushed a rival plan that would focus on bringing developing nations into the bloc and seek discourse with the G-7 to reform international economic and financial systems, according to The Atlantic Council.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 22 Aug. 2023
Hilary Tetenbaum, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2023
After 10 months, Swift’s U.S. tour is finished, but so are most of the meaningful reforms consumer advocates and industry groups had hoped to pass this year.
—Adam Beam, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2023
Foxconn set up its first offshore factory in Shenzhen in 1988, and has since played a crucial role in China’s reform and opening by bringing entrepreneurship, capital and technology to the fledgling Chinese economy.
—Wayne Chang, CNN, 1 Sep. 2023
Downtown Birmingham ranked 41st out of 87 city centers for the percentage of land dedicated to parking in a study conducted by the Parking Reform Network, a national group dedicated to parking reform.
—Heather Gann | Hgann@al.com, al, 31 Aug. 2023
Local attorneys commended the organizers and the city for implementing police reform.
—Molly Walsh | Mwalsh@cleveland.com, cleveland, 30 Aug. 2023
Only 15 states have reported disenrollments by age, and between them nearly 1.5 million children have been removed, said Jennifer Tolbert, director of the state health reform and data for KFF.
—Sarah Owermohle, STAT, 30 Aug. 2023
Owens, who represents District 4, which stretches from Murray to Gunnison, stumbled through brief prepared remarks highlighting his work on several issues, including student loan reform.
—Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 30 Aug. 2023
Council members did receive extensive feedback on York from neighborhood councils, which enthusiastically endorsed her and her work on ethics reform, particularly her effort to strengthen lobbying laws.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2023
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
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
Added proteins help re-form the hair structure with temporary strength and elasticity, and amino acids and peptides help to add moisture and hydration to the hair.
—Jacqueline Saguin, goodhousekeeping.com, 26 May 2023
The Pop Group later re-formed in 2010 and put out two full-lengths.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2023
The group broke up originally in 1977 but re-formed on several occasions.
—Tim Page, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2023
Nothing settles; small groups form and re-form.
—Jeffrey Gantz, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Mar. 2023
See More
Verb
Advertisement The governor’s plan, unveiled in March, seeks to reform California’s 20-year-old Mental Health Services Act.
—Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023
The popular event focuses on advocating and reforming marijuana laws at the local, state, and federal levels.
—Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 11 Sep. 2023
The University of Virginia Health System and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis both reformed their collections policies after reporting from the nonprofit news outlets KFF Health News, ProPublica and MLK50 revealed the hospitals had sued thousands of former patients.
—Casey Tolan, CNN, 8 Sep. 2023
Yet the movement to reform police has effectively stalled.
—Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 4 Sep. 2023
Sam Young, a former lay bishop who rallied to reform the sometimes-explicit questions in church leaders’ interviews with youths, was ousted in 2018.
—Peggy Fletcher Stack, The Salt Lake Tribune, 3 Sep. 2023
The shake up of higher education rankings induced U.S. News to reform its methodology for its law school rankings in January.
—Alexa Gagosz, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Aug. 2023
In fact, the development of a U.S. CBDC is an opportunity to reconsider and reform the increasing risk to privacy posed by the status quo of large-scale, centralized platforms.
—J. Christopher Giancarlo, Fortune Crypto, 22 Aug. 2023
India has pushed a rival plan that would focus on bringing developing nations into the bloc and seek discourse with the G-7 to reform international economic and financial systems, according to The Atlantic Council.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 22 Aug. 2023
Noun
Those who oppose the reforms say that these are detrimental to the country’s democracy and will remove the courts’ ability to check and balance the powers of the government.
—Hilary Tetenbaum, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2023
After 10 months, Swift’s U.S. tour is finished, but so are most of the meaningful reforms consumer advocates and industry groups had hoped to pass this year.
—Adam Beam, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2023
Foxconn set up its first offshore factory in Shenzhen in 1988, and has since played a crucial role in China’s reform and opening by bringing entrepreneurship, capital and technology to the fledgling Chinese economy.
—Wayne Chang, CNN, 1 Sep. 2023
Downtown Birmingham ranked 41st out of 87 city centers for the percentage of land dedicated to parking in a study conducted by the Parking Reform Network, a national group dedicated to parking reform.
—Heather Gann | Hgann@al.com, al, 31 Aug. 2023
Local attorneys commended the organizers and the city for implementing police reform.
—Molly Walsh | Mwalsh@cleveland.com, cleveland, 30 Aug. 2023
Only 15 states have reported disenrollments by age, and between them nearly 1.5 million children have been removed, said Jennifer Tolbert, director of the state health reform and data for KFF.
—Sarah Owermohle, STAT, 30 Aug. 2023
Owens, who represents District 4, which stretches from Murray to Gunnison, stumbled through brief prepared remarks highlighting his work on several issues, including student loan reform.
—Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 30 Aug. 2023
Council members did receive extensive feedback on York from neighborhood councils, which enthusiastically endorsed her and her work on ethics reform, particularly her effort to strengthen lobbying laws.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2023
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
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
Added proteins help re-form the hair structure with temporary strength and elasticity, and amino acids and peptides help to add moisture and hydration to the hair.
—Jacqueline Saguin, goodhousekeeping.com, 26 May 2023
The Pop Group later re-formed in 2010 and put out two full-lengths.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2023
The group broke up originally in 1977 but re-formed on several occasions.
—Tim Page, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2023
Nothing settles; small groups form and re-form.
—Jeffrey Gantz, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Mar. 2023
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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.
Word History
Etymology
Verb (1)
Middle English, from Anglo-French refurmer, from Latin reformare, from re- + formare to form, from forma form
First Known Use
Verb (1)
14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Noun
1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adjective
1819, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb (2)
14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Time Traveler
The first known use of reform was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing reform
Articles Related to reform
Dictionary Entries Near reform
Cite this Entry
“Reform.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reform. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on reform
Nglish: Translation of reform for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of reform for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about reform
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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