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 WebUSA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
Switzerland is accelerating efforts to reform its banking regulations a year after the collapse of Credit Suisse — and handing more power to those who will enforce them.
—Bastian Benrath, Fortune Europe, 4 Apr. 2024
Administration officials have, however, noted that any executive action would not replace the need for Congress to reform an overwhelmed immigration system that was last updated in the 1990s.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2024
Amid intense international pressure for the Palestinian Authority to reform, a new cabinet led by Prime Minister Dr. Mohammed Mustafa was officially sworn in on Sunday in Ramallah, according to Palestinian official news agency WAFA.
—Richard Roth, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
But the charter’s language is in the process of being reformed via Measure B, a ballot initiative approved by nearly two-thirds of county voters earlier this month in the primary election.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024
Mustafa, who helped organize the reconstruction of Gaza following a previous conflict, was assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of the area, which has been shattered by more than five months of war, and reform Palestinian Authority institutions, WAFA added.
—NBC News, 15 Mar. 2024
Washington and its like-minded allies should, then, focus on reforming the states whose leaders harm their publics on a daily basis.
—Renad Mansour, Foreign Affairs, 26 Mar. 2024
Since entering into a consent decree with the Justice Department in 2012, NOPD has been working to reform its policies and practices.
—Carolyn Van Houten, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024
Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
El Salvador has seen multiple radical and often controversial reforms under the strong-arm president’s leadership.
—Michael Rios, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024
The sole major successful effort, the 1983 reform, was predicated on recognizing that longer lifespans necessitated an increase in the retirement age.
—Karl W. Smith, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
The Maywood Police Department reached an agreement with the state that required the city to raise its hiring standards, publish annual audits of the department’s operations, and equip officers with audio recorders and their cruisers with video cameras, among other reforms.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
At the time, the 2016 law was hailed as an important bipartisan reform to close a glaring loophole in the Kansas Open Records Act.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
Marta Nelson, director of sentencing reform at the Vera Institute, said courts should consider a defendant's history with abuse.
—Kristine Phillips, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Apr. 2024
There are indications that this realization was among the factors that persuaded the Soviet leadership to begin economic reforms and political liberalization that ultimately hastened the collapse of the entire Soviet system.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
Republican lawmakers, under constitutional reforms passed by voters, had to include all of the predominantly Democratic Cincinnati in the district.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 1 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
Lee refused to accept Wray’s assurances the program has been reformed.
—USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
Switzerland is accelerating efforts to reform its banking regulations a year after the collapse of Credit Suisse — and handing more power to those who will enforce them.
—Bastian Benrath, Fortune Europe, 4 Apr. 2024
Administration officials have, however, noted that any executive action would not replace the need for Congress to reform an overwhelmed immigration system that was last updated in the 1990s.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2024
Amid intense international pressure for the Palestinian Authority to reform, a new cabinet led by Prime Minister Dr. Mohammed Mustafa was officially sworn in on Sunday in Ramallah, according to Palestinian official news agency WAFA.
—Richard Roth, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
But the charter’s language is in the process of being reformed via Measure B, a ballot initiative approved by nearly two-thirds of county voters earlier this month in the primary election.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024
Mustafa, who helped organize the reconstruction of Gaza following a previous conflict, was assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of the area, which has been shattered by more than five months of war, and reform Palestinian Authority institutions, WAFA added.
—NBC News, 15 Mar. 2024
Washington and its like-minded allies should, then, focus on reforming the states whose leaders harm their publics on a daily basis.
—Renad Mansour, Foreign Affairs, 26 Mar. 2024
Since entering into a consent decree with the Justice Department in 2012, NOPD has been working to reform its policies and practices.
—Carolyn Van Houten, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024
Noun
Some former officials told me that she’s been barrelling ahead with her reforms, ignoring the input of longtime staff, and installing loyal aides to top positions.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
El Salvador has seen multiple radical and often controversial reforms under the strong-arm president’s leadership.
—Michael Rios, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024
The sole major successful effort, the 1983 reform, was predicated on recognizing that longer lifespans necessitated an increase in the retirement age.
—Karl W. Smith, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
The Maywood Police Department reached an agreement with the state that required the city to raise its hiring standards, publish annual audits of the department’s operations, and equip officers with audio recorders and their cruisers with video cameras, among other reforms.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
At the time, the 2016 law was hailed as an important bipartisan reform to close a glaring loophole in the Kansas Open Records Act.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
Marta Nelson, director of sentencing reform at the Vera Institute, said courts should consider a defendant's history with abuse.
—Kristine Phillips, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Apr. 2024
There are indications that this realization was among the factors that persuaded the Soviet leadership to begin economic reforms and political liberalization that ultimately hastened the collapse of the entire Soviet system.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
Republican lawmakers, under constitutional reforms passed by voters, had to include all of the predominantly Democratic Cincinnati in the district.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 1 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.
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 16 Apr. 2024.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share