See Also: REFORM(law)
reform(2)(dictionary)
reform(1)(dictionary)
reform 2, noun(dictionary)
Reform sauce(recipes)
Deuteronomic Reform(encyclopedia)
Reform (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
Reform Judaism(encyclopedia)
Reform Party(encyclopedia)
reform school(dictionary)

reform(1) (iou)



reform noun & adjective. M17.
[from REFORM verb1 or French reforme.]
A. noun.
The removal of faults or errors, esp. of a moral, political, or social kind; amendment, change for the better; reformation of character. M17.
W. Cowper Remorse begets reform. Shelley Choose reform or civil war! R. W. Emerson The..necessity of the reform of the calendar. D. H. Lawrence Gerald rushed into the reform of the office.
b. A particular instance of this; an improvement made or suggested; a change for the better. L18.
Law Times The public and the Profession were..calling for sweeping reforms.
(Also Reform.) A religious order created from another by the adoption of stricter observances. E18.
ellipt. (Reform.) The Reform Club in London (see below). M19.
Comb.: Reform Act, Reform Bill an act or bill to amend the system of parliamentary representation, esp. either of those introduced in Britain in 1832 and 1867; Reform Club a London club in Pall Mall founded in 1836 to promote political reform; reform school an institution to which young offenders are sent to be reformed.
b. adjective. (Reform.) Judaism. Of, pertaining to, characterized by, or designating a simplified and rationalized form of Judaism initiated in the 18th cent. under the influence of the European intellectual enlightenment. M19.
A. Blaisdell I never was very religious, we were Reform.