Which to use
“reformed” is an adjective and “reforms” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,842
- “reformed” frequency rank
- #6,513
- “reforms” frequency rank
- 19355
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reformed | reforms |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Corrected; amended; restored to purity or excellence; said, specifically, of the whole body of Protestant churches originating in the Reformation, or, in a more restricted sense, of those who separated from Martin Luther on the doctrine of consubstantiation, etc., and carried the Reformation, as they claimed, to a higher point. | plural of reform |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reformed and reforms apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
reformed and reforms form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reformed is recorded at frequency rank #12,842, classified as anadj. reforms is at rank #6,513, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈfɔɹmz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 19355, this pair ranks #438,743 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "reformed" and "reforms" be used interchangeably?
Remembering reformed vs reforms
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “reformed”; for a noun, it's “reforms”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “reformed” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable