reform

/rɪˈfɔrm/

/rəˈfɔm/

Other forms: reforms; reformed; reforming

When you reform something, you change it for the better. If you're running for President, you might promise to reform government, although it's easier to promise reform than to actually accomplish it.

If you take the parts of reform, re- and form, you can see that it means “to shape again.” We often use it to talk about correcting what's wrong in a system, and if you reform something, you make it better and more fair. Juvenile delinquents might be sent to reform school to become better people. Someone fighting alcoholism might try to reform her ways. It's not always about morals: in chemistry, you reform molecules by breaking them apart.

Definitions of reform

1. verb

   make changes for improvement in order to remove abuse and injustices
   “reform a political system”

   type of:

   ameliorate, amend, better, improve, meliorate

   make better
2. verb

   improve by alteration or correction of errors or defects and put into a better condition
   “reform the health system in this country”

   type of:

   ameliorate, amend, better, improve, meliorate

   make better
3. noun

   a change for the better as a result of correcting abuses
   “justice was for sale before the reform of the law courts”

   types:

   land reform

   a redistribution of agricultural land (especially by government action)

   moralisation, moralization

   the act of making moral (or more moral)

   housecleaning

   (figurative) the act of reforming by the removal of unwanted personnel or practices or conditions

   type of:

   improvement

   the act of improving something
4. noun

   a campaign aimed to correct abuses or malpractices
   “the reforms he proposed were too radical for the politicians”

   type of:

   campaign, cause, crusade, drive, effort, movement

   a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end
5. verb

   bring, lead, or force to abandon a wrong or evil course of life, conduct, and adopt a right one
   “The Church reformed me”

   “reform your conduct”

   synonyms: reclaim, rectify, regenerate

   see the light, straighten out

   change for the better

   types:

   moralise, moralize

   improve the morals of

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
6. verb

   change for the better
   “The lazy student promised to reform”

   synonyms: see the light, straighten out

   reclaim, rectify, regenerate

   bring, lead, or force to abandon a wrong or evil course of life, conduct, and adopt a right one

   type of:

   ameliorate, better, improve, meliorate

   get better
7. noun

   self-improvement in behavior or morals by abandoning some vice
   type of:

   self-improvement, self-reformation

   the act of improving yourself
8. verb

   produce by cracking
   “reform gas”

   type of:

   create from raw material, create from raw stuff

   make from scratch
9. verb

   break up the molecules of
   “reform oil”

   type of:

   change integrity

   change in physical make-up