re-form

[ree-fawrm] /riˈfɔrm/
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
1.
to form again.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English; orig. identical with reform
Related forms
re-formation, noun
re-former, noun
Can be confused
re-form, reform.

reform

[ri-fawrm] /rɪˈfɔrm/
noun
1.
the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc.:
social reform; spelling reform.
2.
an instance of this.
3.
the amendment of conduct, belief, etc.
verb (used with object)
4.
to change to a better state, form, etc.; improve by alteration, substitution, abolition, etc.
5.
to cause (a person) to abandon wrong or evil ways of life or conduct.
6.
to put an end to (abuses, disorders, etc.).
7.
Chemistry. to subject to the process of reforming, as in refining petroleum.
verb (used without object)
8.
to abandon evil conduct or error:
The drunkard promised to reform.
adjective
9.
(initial capital letter) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Reform Jews or Reform Judaism:
a Reform rabbi.
Origin
1300-50; (v.) Middle English reformen < Middle French reformer, Old French < Latin refōrmāre (see re-, form); (noun) partly derivative of the v., partly < French réforme
Related forms
reformable, adjective
reformability, reformableness, noun
reformative, adjective
reformatively, adverb
reformativeness, noun
reformingly, adverb
antireform, adjective
misreform, verb
prereform, adjective
proreform, adjective
self-reform, noun
superreform, noun, verb (used with object)
unreformable, adjective
unreformative, adjective
Can be confused
re-form, reform.
Synonyms
1. correction, reformation, betterment, amelioration. 4. better, rectify, correct, amend, emend, ameliorate, repair, restore.
Antonyms
1. deterioration.
Examples from the web for reform
  • Unfortunately, the seafood industry has often blocked the road to reform.
  • The social and economic sciences, that now specially interest me, have no considerable place in such a reform-Times.
  • In any event, to succeed, reform by law must aim at making it unprofitable to own a bad tenement.
  • He was interested in every social reform movement, and he did an immense amount of practical charitable work himself.
  • No one would dispute that the securities laws need reform.
  • Financial incentives have made their way into health reform, too.
  • Intelligent research and sensible drug reform policies are the way to go.
  • It is this kind of thinking that prevents health care reform.
  • The part that keeps them out of reform school, jail, and other areas of extreme social reaction.
  • The public forums on healthcare reform held across the country several summers ago.
British Dictionary definitions for reform

reform

/rɪˈfɔːm/
verb
1.
(transitive) to improve (an existing institution, law, practice, etc) by alteration or correction of abuses
2.
to give up or cause to give up a reprehensible habit or immoral way of life
3.
(chem) to change the molecular structure of (a hydrocarbon) to make it suitable for use as petrol by heat, pressure, and the action of catalysts
noun
4.
an improvement or change for the better, esp as a result of correction of legal or political abuses or malpractices
5.
a principle, campaign, or measure aimed at achieving such change
6.
improvement of morals or behaviour, esp by giving up some vice
Derived Forms
reformable, adjective
reformative, adjective
reformer, noun
Word Origin
C14: via Old French from Latin reformāre to form again

re-form

/riːˈfɔːm/
verb
1.
to form anew
Derived Forms
re-formation, noun
Word Origin and History for reform
v.

c.1300, "to convert into another and better form," from Old French reformer "rebuild, reconstruct, recreate" (12c.), from Latin reformare "to form again, change, transform, alter," from re- "again" (see re-) + formare "to form" (see form (n.)). Intransitive sense from 1580s.

Meaning "to bring (a person) away from an evil course of life" is recorded from early 15c.; of governments, institutions, etc., from early 15c. Related: Reformed; reforming. Reformed churches (1580s) usually are Calvinist as opposed to Lutheran. Reformed Judaism (1843) is a movement initiated in Germany by Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786). Reform school is attested from 1859.

n.

"any proceeding which brings back a better order of things," 1660s, from reform (v.) and in some uses from French réforme. As a branch of Judaism from 1843.

re-form

v.

"form again," mid-14c., from re- + form (v.). Related: Re-formed; re-forming; re-formation.