|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
reform
re·form / riˈfôrm/ • v. [tr.] 1. make changes in (something, typically a social, political, or economic institution or practice) in order to improve it: an opportunity to reform and restructure an antiquated schooling model. ∎ bring about a change in (someone) so that they no longer behave in an immoral, criminal, or self-destructive manner: the state has a duty to reform criminals | [as adj.] (reformed) a reformed gambler. ∎ [intr.] (of a person) change oneself in such a way: it was only when his drunken behavior led to blows that he started to reform. 2. Chem. subject (hydrocarbons) to a catalytic process in which straight-chain molecules are converted to branched forms for use in gasoline. • n. the action or process of reforming an institution or practice: the reform of the divorce laws | economic reforms. • adj. (Reform) of, denoting, or pertaining to Reform Judaism: a Reform rabbi. DERIVATIVES: re·form·a·ble adj. re·form·a·tive / -mətiv/ adj. re·form·er n. |
|
|
Cite this article
"reform." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "reform." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-reform.html "reform." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-reform.html |
|
reform
reform Reform Act an act framed to amend the system of parliamentary representation, especially those introduced in Britain during the 19th century.
The first Reform Act (1832) disenfranchised various rotten boroughs and lowered the property qualification, widening the electorate by about 50 per cent to include most of the male members of the upper middle class. The second (1867) doubled the electorate to about 2 million men by again lowering the property qualification, and the third (1884) increased it to about 5 million. Reform Judaism a form of Judaism, initiated in Germany by the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86), which has reformed or abandoned aspects of Orthodox Jewish worship and ritual in an attempt to adapt to modern changes in social, political, and cultural life. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "reform." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "reform." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-reform.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "reform." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-reform.html |
|
reform
reform
A. form again XIV; B. †restore; convert into another and a better form XIV; change for the better XV. — OF. reformer (mod. réformer) or L. reformāre; see RE-, FORM vb. In sense A, a new formation since XVI, and now usu. sp. re-form. Hence (or — F. réforme) sb. XVIII. So reformation improvement, radical change for the better XV; (hist.) spec., with R. XVI. — (O)F. or L. Hence reformatory adj. XVI; sb. institute for the reformation of juvenile offenders XIX. |
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "reform." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "reform." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-reform.html T. F. HOAD. "reform." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-reform.html |
|
Reform
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Reform." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Reform." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424300665.html "Reform." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. 2005. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424300665.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
