reform

re·form

R0117300 (rĭ-fôrm′)v. re·formed, re·form·ing, re·forms v.tr.1. To improve by alteration, correction of error, or removal of defects; put into a better form or condition: reform the tax code.2. a. To abolish abuse or malpractice in: reform the government.b. To put an end to (an abuse or wrong).3. To induce or persuade (a person) to give up harmful or immoral practices; cause to adopt a better way of life.4. Chemistry To subject (hydrocarbons) to cracking.v.intr. To change for the better.n.1. Action to improve or correct what is wrong or defective in something: health care reform.2. An instance of this; an improvement: reforms in education.adj.1. Relating to or favoring reform: a reform candidate for mayor.2. Reform Of or relating to Reform Judaism.

[Middle English reformen, from Old French reformer, from Latin refōrmāre : re-, re- + fōrmāre, to shape (from fōrma, form).]

re·form′a·bil′i·ty n.re·form′a·ble adj.re·form′er n.

reform

(rɪˈfɔːm) vb1. (tr) to improve (an existing institution, law, practice, etc) by alteration or correction of abuses2. to give up or cause to give up a reprehensible habit or immoral way of life3. (Chemistry) chem to change the molecular structure of (a hydrocarbon) to make it suitable for use as petrol by heat, pressure, and the action of catalystsn4. an improvement or change for the better, esp as a result of correction of legal or political abuses or malpractices5. a principle, campaign, or measure aimed at achieving such change6. improvement of morals or behaviour, esp by giving up some vice[C14: via Old French from Latin reformāre to form again] reˈformable adj reˈformative adj reˈformer n

re-form

(riˈfɔrm)

v.t., v.i. to form again.

re•form

(rɪˈfɔrm)

n. 1. the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc.: social reform. 2. an instance of this. 3. the amendment of conduct, belief, etc. v.t. 4. to change to a better state, form, etc. 5. to cause (a person) to abandon wrong or evil ways of life or conduct. 6. to put an end to (abuses, evils, etc.). 7. to subject (petroleum fractions) to a chemical process, as catalytic cracking, that increases the octane content. v.i. 8. to abandon evil conduct or error. adj. 9. (cap.) conforming to or characteristic of Reform Judaism. [1300–50; (v.) Middle English < Middle French reformer, Old French < Latin refōrmāre] re•form′a•ble, adj. re•form′a•tive, adj.

reform

Past participle: reformed
Gerund: reforming

Imperative
reform
reform

Present
I reform
you reform
he/she/it reforms
we reform
you reform
they reform

Preterite
I reformed
you reformed
he/she/it reformed
we reformed
you reformed
they reformed

Present Continuous
I am reforming
you are reforming
he/she/it is reforming
we are reforming
you are reforming
they are reforming

Present Perfect
I have reformed
you have reformed
he/she/it has reformed
we have reformed
you have reformed
they have reformed

Past Continuous
I was reforming
you were reforming
he/she/it was reforming
we were reforming
you were reforming
they were reforming

Past Perfect
I had reformed
you had reformed
he/she/it had reformed
we had reformed
you had reformed
they had reformed

Future
I will reform
you will reform
he/she/it will reform
we will reform
you will reform
they will reform

Future Perfect
I will have reformed
you will have reformed
he/she/it will have reformed
we will have reformed
you will have reformed
they will have reformed

Future Continuous
I will be reforming
you will be reforming
he/she/it will be reforming
we will be reforming
you will be reforming
they will be reforming

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been reforming
you have been reforming
he/she/it has been reforming
we have been reforming
you have been reforming
they have been reforming

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been reforming
you will have been reforming
he/she/it will have been reforming
we will have been reforming
you will have been reforming
they will have been reforming

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been reforming
you had been reforming
he/she/it had been reforming
we had been reforming
you had been reforming
they had been reforming

Conditional
I would reform
you would reform
he/she/it would reform
we would reform
you would reform
they would reform

Past Conditional
I would have reformed
you would have reformed
he/she/it would have reformed
we would have reformed
you would have reformed
they would have reformed

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	reform - a change for the better as a result of correcting abuses; "justice was for sale before the reform of the law courts"improvement - the act of improving something; "their improvements increased the value of the property"land reform - a redistribution of agricultural land (especially by government action)moralisation, moralization - the act of making moral (or more moral); "for years she worked toward the moralization of English literature"housecleaning - (figurative) the act of reforming by the removal of unwanted personnel or practices or conditions; "more housecleaning is in store at other accounting firms"; "many employees were discharged in a general housecleaning by the new owners"
	2.	reform - a campaign aimed to correct abuses or malpractices; "the reforms he proposed were too radical for the politicians"crusade, campaign, cause, drive, effort, movement - a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end; "he supported populist campaigns"; "they worked in the cause of world peace"; "the team was ready for a drive toward the pennant"; "the movement to end slavery"; "contributed to the war effort"
	3.	reform - self-improvement in behavior or morals by abandoning some vice; "the family rejoiced in the drunkard's reform"self-improvement, self-reformation - the act of improving yourself
Verb	1.	reform - make changes for improvement in order to remove abuse and injustices; "reform a political system"ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes"reform - improve by alteration or correction of errors or defects and put into a better condition; "reform the health system in this country"
	2.	reform - bring, lead, or force to abandon a wrong or evil course of life, conduct, and adopt a right one; "The Church reformed me"; "reform your conduct"reclaim, rectify, regeneratealter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"see the light, straighten out, reform - change for the better; "The lazy student promised to reform"; "the habitual cheater finally saw the light"moralise, moralize - improve the morals of
	3.	reform - produce by cracking; "reform gas"chemical science, chemistry - the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactionscreate from raw material, create from raw stuff - make from scratch
	4.	reform - break up the molecules of; "reform oil"chemical science, chemistry - the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactionschange integrity - change in physical make-up
	5.	reform - improve by alteration or correction of errors or defects and put into a better condition; "reform the health system in this country"ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes"reform - make changes for improvement in order to remove abuse and injustices; "reform a political system"
	6.	reform - change for the better; "The lazy student promised to reform"; "the habitual cheater finally saw the light"see the light, straighten outameliorate, improve, meliorate, better - get better; "The weather improved toward evening"reform, regenerate, reclaim, rectify - bring, lead, or force to abandon a wrong or evil course of life, conduct, and adopt a right one; "The Church reformed me"; "reform your conduct"

reform

noun1. improvement, amendment, correction, rehabilitation, renovation, betterment, rectification, amelioration a programme of economic reformverb1. improve, better, correct, restore, repair, rebuild, amend, reclaim, mend, renovate, reconstruct, remodel, rectify, rehabilitate, regenerate, reorganize, reconstitute, revolutionize, ameliorate, emend his plans to reform the country's economy2. mend your ways, go straight (informal), shape up (informal), get it together (informal), turn over a new leaf, get your act together (informal), clean up your act (informal), pull your socks up (Brit. informal), get back on the straight and narrow (informal) Under such a system where is the incentive to reform?

reform

verbTo make right what is wrong:amend, correct, emend, mend, rectify, redress, remedy, right.

Translations

改进革新改造改邪归正改革

reform

(rəˈfoːm) verb1. to improve or remove faults from. The criminal's wife stated that she had made great efforts to reform her husband. 改造，改革 2. to give up bad habits, improve one's behaviour etc. He admitted that he had been a criminal, but said that he intended to reform.改邪归正 noun1. the act of improving. the reform of our political system.改革2. an improvement. He intends to make several reforms in the prison system.改进革新ˌreforˈmation (refə-) noun 改革，改进 reˈformed adjective (negative unreformed) improved, especially in behaviour. 改革的，革新的 reˈformer noun a person who wishes to bring about improvements. one of the reformers of our political system.改革者

Reform

the transformation, modification, or restructuring of an aspect of society, such as systems, institutions, or establishments, without destroying the foundation of the existing social structure. From a formal point of view, reform subsumes any kind of innovation. In political practice and theory, however, “reform” usually refers to a more or less progressive transformation, or a step toward improvement (V. I. Lenin, Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 15, p. 107).

To the extent that in a class antagonistic society reform has the forced quality of a concession by the ruling class to its class enemy, reform is ambivalent in its content and in its influence on social processes. On the one hand, reform is a real step forward. It improves the condition of the working people in some respect, serving as the precondition for their further struggle. On the other hand, reform may be “a preventative reaction, i.e., a measure to prevent the ruling classes from falling” (Lenin, ibid., vol. 7, p. 209). To maintain their power, the ruling classes agree to reforms, intending to weaken the pressure of the revolutionary forces and channel it into ordinary reformism. The contradictory character of reform is confirmed, for example, by the entire history of social legislation under capitalism. In the developed bourgeois countries the organized struggle of the working class resulted in a series of reforms that improved the condition of the working people, opening new possibilities for the struggle against the monopolies and imperialism. At the same time, the successes of the working-class movement were accompanied by the growth of reformist illusions and the expansion of the influence of the Social Democrats. The Communist parties support the direct, immediate demands of the working people and advocate their pursuing their struggle until they achieve a revolutionary restructuring of society.

The relationship between reform and revolution is one of the most important theoretical and practical problems of the international working-class movement and of the world revolutionary process as a whole. In principle, the reformist approach differs from the revolutionary approach in that power remains in the hands of the ruling class after reforms, whereas a revolution results in the transfer of power to a new class. Bearing in mind this distinction, Lenin wrote: “The concept ‘reform’ is undoubtedly the opposite of the concept ‘revolution’. Failure to remember this contrast, failure to remember the line that divides these two concepts, constantly leads to very serious mistakes…. But this contrast is not something absolute, this line is not something dead, but alive and changing, and one must be able to define it in each particular case” (ibid., vol. 20, p. 167).

Lenin struggled against the reformists and the revisionists, who “forget” the boundary between reform and revolution, and against the dogmatists and sectarians, who counterpose reform to revolution in a metaphysical way and underestimate the role of the struggle for reform. The significance of reform in the revolutionary process depends on a complex intertwining of objective and subjective factors, the most important of which is the relation of class forces on an international level and within each country. Depending on the character of the relation of class forces, either of two main types of revolutionary transformations may take place: peaceful or nonpeaceful. Reforms play substantially different roles under peaceful and nonpeaceful revolutions.

In the context of the nonpeaceful development of revolution, the role and significance of reforms are described precisely by Lenin’s formula: “reforms [are] a by-product of the revolutionary class struggle of the proletariat” (ibid., vol. 15, p. 108). In practical terms, this means that the working class and its party are oriented toward the direct realization of radical political and socioeconomic transformations. The struggle for various reforms is primarily a means of training the revolutionary political army, creating and strengthening class organizations, and inculcating proletarian consciousness. If the revolution triumphs, reforms are carried out as its “by-products”; if the revolution is deféated, the character and significance of the concessions wrested from the ruling class depend on the scope and depth of the revolutionary struggle.

Under contemporary conditions, the approach to the relationship between reform and revolution elaborated in Lenin’s works and in the documents of the Comintern has practical significance for countries where the development of the revolution is most likely to take a nonpeaceful course. However, in view of the strategy of a peaceful transition to socialism, which has been established in the documents of the international communist movement, the documents of the fraternal parties, and the Program of the CPSU, the formula of reform as a by-product of revolution no longer reflects all the characteristics of the contemporary revolutionary process. The Program of the CPSU states: “Under contemporary historical conditions, the working class of many countries is able, even before the overthrow of capitalism, to compel the bourgeoisie to carry out measures that go beyond the limits of ordinary reforms and that are of vital significance for the working class, for the development of its struggle for the victory of the revolution, for socialism, and for the majority of the nation” (1975, p. 37).

The peaceful path to socialism presupposes a series of transitional stages, intermediate measures, and, in Lenin’s words, “combined types” of economic and political organization, by means of which the power of the monopolies is limited, the antimonopoly coalition is strengthened, and changes are made in the social structure. The struggle for these profound reforms, which are referred to as structural reforms in the documents of a number of Communist parties, including the Italian, the Austrian, and the Brazilian, serves as an important means of activating the masses and gradually undermining the position of the ruling class. Thus, the struggle for structural reforms is a special form of the revolutionary process. Reforms of this type, which go beyond ordinary reforms, are considered to be a collection of gradual, fundamental transformations that do not “introduce” socialism but that directly affect the foundations of the capitalist system, opening prospects for socialism.

The peaceful approach to socialism differs in principle from reformism because the Communists do not sever the struggle for reform from the struggle for political power and for its use in implementing fundamental revolutionary transformations. In this respect, the Communists’ policy means that one does not wait passively for a revolutionary situation but struggles continuously for democratic goals, the achievement of which results in a strengthening of socialist forces and creates the basis for a comparatively peaceful seizure of power by the working class. When events follow this course of development, reform is an essential element of the revolutionary process—the practical expression of the combination of the struggle for democracy and the struggle for socialism.

With the victory of socialism, the counterposition of reform and revolution is eliminated forever. In the absence of class antagonisms, improvements in social relations are made by means of more or less continuous change, by reforming the existing system.

REFERENCES

Lenin, V. I. “Pis’mo ‘Severnomu Soiuzu RSDRP.’” Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 6.
Lenin, V. I. “Eshche o dumskom ministerstve.” Ibid., vol. 13.
Lenin, V. I. “Itogi vyborov.” Ibid., vol. 22.
Lenin, V. I. “Vozrastaiushchee nesootvetstvie.” Ibid.
Lenin, V. I. “Marksizm i reformizm.” Ibid., vol. 24.
Lenin, V. I. “O znachenii zolota teper’ i posle polnoi pobedy sotsializma.” Ibid., vol. 44.
Programmnye dokumenty bor’by za mir, demokratiiu i sotsializm. Moscow, 1964.
Mezhdunarodnoe Soveshchanie kommunisticheskikh i rabochikh partii: Dokumenty i materialy. Moscow, 1969.
Krasin, Iu. A. Lenin, revoliutsiia, sovremennost’: Problemy leninskoi teorii sotsialisticheskoi revoliutsii. Moscow, 1967.
Mezhdunarodnoe kommunisticheskoe dvizhenie: Ocherk strategii i taktiki, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1972.
Leninskaia teoriia sotsialisticheskoi revoliutsii i sovremennost’. Moscow, 1972.

A. E. BOVIN

reform

re·form

reform

re-form

re•form

reform

reform

reform

reform

Reform

Reform

REFERENCES

Reform

REFORM

reform

Synonyms for reform

noun improvement

Synonyms

verb improve

Synonyms

verb mend your ways

Synonyms

Synonyms for reform

verb to make right what is wrong

Synonyms

Synonyms for reform

noun a change for the better as a result of correcting abuses

Related Words

noun a campaign aimed to correct abuses or malpractices

Related Words

noun self-improvement in behavior or morals by abandoning some vice

Related Words

verb make changes for improvement in order to remove abuse and injustices

Related Words

verb bring, lead, or force to abandon a wrong or evil course of life, conduct, and adopt a right one

Synonyms

Related Words

verb produce by cracking

Related Words

verb break up the molecules of

Related Words

verb improve by alteration or correction of errors or defects and put into a better condition

Related Words

verb change for the better

Synonyms

Related Words