Reform

rē-form′, v.t. to form again or anew: to transform: to make better: to remove that which is objectionable from: to repair or improve: to reclaim.— v.i. to become better: to abandon evil: to be corrected or improved.— n. a forming anew: change, amendment, improvement: an extension or better distribution of parliamentary representation, as in the Reform Bill.— adj. Refor′mable .— n. Reformā′tion , the act of forming again: the act of reforming: amendment: improvement: the great religious revolution of the 16th century, which gave rise to the various evangelical or Protestant organisations of Christen dom.— adjs. Refor′mātive , forming again or anew: tending to produce reform; Refor′mātory , reforming: tending to produce reform.— n. an institution for reclaiming youths and children who have been convicted of crime.— adj. Reformed′ , formed again or anew: changed: amended: improved: denoting the churches formed after the Reformation, esp. those in which the Calvin is tic doctrines, and still more the Calvin is tic polity, prevail, in contradistinction to the Luther an .— ns. Refor′mer , one who reforms: one who advocates political reform: one of those who took part in the Reformation of the 16th century; Refor′mist , a reformer.— Reformed Presbyterians , a Presbyterian denomination originating in Scotland (see Cameron i an ); Reform school , a reformatory. [L. re- , again, formāre , to shape— form a , form.]