reform
/rɪˈfɔːm/ (bre, ipa) · [rəfˈɔrm] /rɪˈfɔːrm/ (ame, ipa) · [rəfˈɔrm] /ri-ˈfȯrm/ (ame, mw)
reform — verb
- reformpresent simple I / you / we / they
- reforms3rd person singular
- reforming-ing form
- reformedpast simple
1. To change a system, law, organization, or someone's personal habits in order to
To change a system, law, organization, or someone's personal habits in order to fix its faults and make it work better.
The government plans to reform the health system so more people get treatment quickly.
collocation: reform + [system / law / institution]
After years of gambling, Eshe decided to reform and focus on her family.
intransitive: person reforms their behaviour
Many economists argue that the tax code needs to be reformed completely.
Tomás promised to reform the company's outdated hiring practices.
The welfare system was reformed in 2005 to give more support to low-income families.
文法句型
reform + [system / law / institution]
reform + [person's ways / behaviour]
用法筆記
Can be used transitively (reform a system) or intransitively (a person reforms). For personal behaviour change, the intransitive use often implies stopping a harmful habit. The passive form is common in news discourse.
常見錯誤
reform — noun
- reformsingular
- reformsplural
1. A change made to a system, law, organization, or personal way of behaving that c
A change made to a system, law, organization, or personal way of behaving that corrects faults and produces better results.
The education reform introduced smaller class sizes across all public schools.
collocation: education / tax / political / health reform
Christopher believes that political reform is necessary to reduce corruption in the government.
The reform of the banking system after the crisis took over a decade to complete.
The government announced sweeping reforms to the immigration system last week.
Historians consider the 1832 Reform Act a turning point in British democracy.
- overhaul
suggests a more thorough and complete rebuilding of a system
- restructuring
focuses on changing the organisation or arrangement, not necessarily fixing faults
- amendment
a smaller, more specific change, usually to a law or document
- stagnation
a state of no movement or change
- deterioration
the process of becoming worse rather than better
文法句型
[area] + reform
reform of + [system / institution]
用法筆記
Often follows a noun to specify the area of change, e.g. education reform, tax reform, electoral reform. Can be countable (a reform, many reforms) when referring to specific changes, or uncountable (reform) when talking about the idea or process in general.