reform
Syllables: Re·formUK/ˌɹiːˈfɔːm//ˌɹiːˈfɔɹm/
reform noun: the change of something that is defective, broken, inefficient or otherwise negative, in order to correct or improve it.
Noun (1)
reform (countable and uncountable, plural reforms)
- The change of something that is defective, broken, inefficient or otherwise negative, in order to correct or improve it
- The elections need to undergo a serious reform.
- Major reform is needed to improve the efficiency in the factory.
- Synonyms:
- reformation, amendment, rectification, correction
Verb
reform (third-person singular simple present reforms, present participle reforming, simple past and past participle reformed)
- To put into a new and improved form or condition; to restore to a former good state, or bring from bad to good; to change from worse to better.
- to reform a profligate man; to reform corrupt manners or morals; to reform a criminal
- In this interview with Law Editors and Correspondents, he speaks on the gains of reforming the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), efforts to keep underage persons out of jail.2018 January 15, Adebisi Onanuga, Robert Egbe, “‘How we stopped DPP’s office from being used to settle scores’”, in The Nation
- To return to a good state; to amend or correct one's own character or habits.
- It is hoped that many criminals, upon being freed, will eventually reform.
- To form again or in a new configuration.
- This product contains reformed meat.
- The regiment reformed after surviving the first attack.
Noun (2) capitalized: Reform
US/ɹɪˈfɔɹm/UK/ɹɪˈfɔːm/
Reform (plural Reforms)
- A political movement or party.
- Ellipsis of Reform UK (British nationalist party).
- An evangelical organisation within Anglicanism.
Adjective capitalized: Reform
US/ɹɪˈfɔɹm/UK/ɹɪˈfɔːm/
Reform (not comparable)
- Of Reform Judaism, its tenets, or its adherents.
- Synonyms:
- Liberal
reform meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
reform in Hindi
- amendment
- सुधार sudhār, रिफ़ार्म rifārm, इस्लाह islāh
reform in Tamil
- amendment
- சீர்திருத்தம் cīrtiruttam
reform in Marathi
- सुधारणा
reform in Urdu
- amendment
- اِصْلاح islāh
More languagesFewer languages
- reform in Bengali
- সংশোধন śoṅśōdhon
- reform in Telugu
- సంస్కరణ
- reform in Malayalam
- പുനർരൂപീകരണം punaṟrūpīkaraṇaṁ, പരിഷ്ക്കാരം pariṣkkāraṁ
- reform in Odia
- ସଂସ୍କାର, ସଂସ୍କାର କରନ୍ତୁ, ସଂସ୍କାର କରିବା
- reform in Pashto
- اصلاح eslãh, رفورم refórm, رېفورم rifórǝm
- reform in Tagalog
- mulinyo, reporma
- reform in Arabic
- إِصْلَاح ʔiṣlāḥ
- reform in Malay
- pembaharuan, reformasi
- reform in Thai
- การปฏิรูป gaan-bpà-dtì-rûup, การปรับปรุง gaan-bpràp-bprung, ปฏิรูป bpà-dtì-rûup
- reform in Vietnamese
- cải cách
- reform in Myanmar
- ပြုပြင် pru.prang
Examples of reform in a sentence
- “There was always something a bit wrong with him,” she said, “but nothing you mightn’t have hoped for, not till they took him and carried him off and reformed him”1909, H. G. Wells, chapter 9, in The History of Mr. Polly:
- With Hot Cakes—the group’s third album, and first since reforming last year—the laughter has died.2012 August 21, Jason Heller, “The Darkness: Hot Cakes (Music Review)”, in The Onion AV Club:
- So far, two have been reformed by Arriva TrainCare at Bristol Barton Hill and put back into traffic.2021 February 10, “Fleet News: CrossCountry boosts capacity by extending two-car Class 170/5s”, in RAIL, number 924, page 29:
- England reformed, this time with Kelly at the head of a 4-4-1, and rode out the final few minutes to force extra time.2023 August 7, Suzanne Wrack, “England beat Nigeria on penalties to reach Women’s World Cup quarter-finals”, in The Guardian:
Synonyms of reform
Forms of reform
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | reforms |
| plural | Reforms |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | reforms |
| present participle | reforming |
| past participle | reformed |
| past | reformed |
| alternative form | re-form |
Origin of reform
From Middle English reformen, from Old French reformer, from Latin reformo, reformare. As a noun since 1660s, from French réforme.
Words formed from reform
- antireform
- anti-reform
- monetary reform
- nonreform
- postreform
- prereform
- proreform
- pseudoreform
- reform dress
- reformism
- reform mathematics
- reform school
- spelling reform
- thought reform
- Reformoron
- Counter-Reformer
- counterreform
- misreform
- reformability
- reformable
- reformate
- reformee
- Reformer
- rereform
- unreformability
Phrases with reform
Words that rhyme with reform
9 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about reform
- What does reform mean?
- Reform means the change of something that is defective, broken, inefficient or otherwise negative, in order to correct or improve it.
- What is reform in Hindi?
- Reform in Hindi is सुधार (sudhār), रिफ़ार्म (rifārm), इस्लाह (islāh). See Reform meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use reform in a sentence?
- “There was always something a bit wrong with him,” she said, “but nothing you mightn’t have hoped for, not till they took him and carried him off and reformed him”
- What part of speech is reform?
- Reform can be a noun, a verb or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce reform?
- Reform is pronounced /ˌɹiːˈfɔɹm/ (US).
- What is the plural of reform?
- The plural of reform is reforms.
Words near reform in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: reform (page history and authors); Reform (page history and authors); reform (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); reform (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); reform (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-reform.ogg.
Cite this entry: “reform.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/reform. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.