reformer

noun re·form·er \ ri-ˈfȯr-mər \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Definition of reformer

1 : one that works for or urges reform

2 capitalized : a leader of the Protestant Reformation

3 : an apparatus for cracking oils or gases to form specialized products

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Recent Examples of reformer from the Web

By contrast, many economic reformers say that China would benefit from more openness.

— keith bradsher, New York Times, "Trump’s Trade Threats Hit China’s Stock Market and Currency," 28 June 2018
If the notion that enlargement can solve as well as create problems seems eccentric in parts of Europe, Macedonia’s reformers offer a corrective.

— The Economist, "The obstacles on Macedonia’s road to the EU," 28 June 2018
The arrests have cast a pall on the social openings being pushed by 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has attempted to brand himself a reformer.

— aya batrawy, Anchorage Daily News, "Saudi women take the wheel as longstanding driving ban ends," 24 June 2018
The Southern Poverty Law Center is issuing an apology, a retraction and a settlement to Islamic reformer Maajid Nawaz after incorrectly labeling and putting them on an anti-Muslim extremist watch list.

— Fox News, "Rep. Cuellar on battle over separating families at border," 19 June 2018
Education reformers used to celebrate D.C.’s dramatic decline in school suspensions.

— lindsey burke, National Review, "Fraud and Failure in D.C. Public Schools," 12 Feb. 2018
To make this system work, judges need to show deference to the regulatory agencies and acknowledge that the congressional reformers who created them wanted the agencies to have some flexibility and discretion.

— matthew yglesias, Vox, "Brett Kavanaugh and the new judicial activism," 12 July 2018
Instead of the strong reformer, the world now saw a vindictive ruler whose actions exuded paranoia.

— Bloomberg.com, "Bloomberg," 18 May 2018
Thu 3/1: Hear from one of the most famous social reformers of the 19th century, as actress Megan Wells performs An Evening with Florence Nightingale at the International Museum of Surgical Science (1524 North Lake Shore).

— rachel yang, Chicago Reader, "Do This / Arts The Moth GrandSlam storytelling show and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week," 26 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reformer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.