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PlainSpell

reform

Re·form/ˌɹiːˈfɔɹm/noun, verb

reform is spelled R-E-F-O-R-M: 6 letters and 2 syllables (Re·form). It appears 34 times per million words in written English, the 2,831st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, reform means “The change of something that is defective, broken, inefficient or otherwise negative, in order to correct or improve it” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of reform is reforms.

How many letters and syllables are in reform?

Letters6: R-E-F-O-R-M
Syllables2: Re·form
In writing34 times per million words; the 2,831st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is reform?

Reform appears 34 times per million words in written English, the 2,831st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce reform?

  • US /ˌɹiːˈfɔɹm/
  • UK /ˌɹiːˈfɔːm/
  • US /ɹɪˈfɔɹm/

Reform has 2 syllables, split Re·form in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-reform.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with reform

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

re-form vs reform0 B

Also written: re-form (one word or two).

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with reform?

10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as reform from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹm/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: former.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of reform

  • reforms plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • reforming participle, present
  • reformed participle, past
  • re-form

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does reform mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The change of something that is defective, broken, inefficient or otherwise negative, in order to correct or improve it

    The elections need to undergo a serious reform.

verb

  1. 1

    To put into a new and improved form or condition; to restore to a former good state, or bring from bad to good; to change from worse to better.

    to reform a profligate man; to reform corrupt manners or morals; to reform a criminal

  2. 2

    To return to a good state; to amend or correct one's own character or habits.

    It is hoped that many criminals, upon being freed, will eventually reform.

  3. 3

    To form again or in a new configuration.

    This product contains reformed meat.

noun

as Reform
  1. 1

    A political movement or party.

  2. 2

    UKEllipsis of Reform UK (British nationalist party).

  3. 3

    An evangelical organisation within Anglicanism.

adjective

as Reform
  1. 1

    Of Reform Judaism, its tenets, or its adherents.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Reform in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchréforme (amendment), réformer (to put into a new and improved form or condition)
GermanReform (amendment), reformieren (to put into a new and improved form or condition)
Portuguesereforma (amendment), reformar (to put into a new and improved form or condition)
Spanishreforma (amendment), reformar (to put into a new and improved form or condition)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does reform come from?

From Middle English reformen, from Old French reformer, from Latin reformo, reformare. As a noun since 1660s, from French réforme.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after reform