Reform and Re-Form Mean Different Things
To reform is to improve by change. Hyphenated, re-form means simply to form again, and the hyphen carries the whole difference.
To reform is to change something in order to improve it. A hyphen changes it completely: to *re-form* is merely to form again, with no implication of improvement. A disbanded band re-forms; a broken institution is reformed. The pair is the standard example of a hyphen doing genuine semantic work.
- To improve by change. *Reform the system.*
- Improvement. *Electoral reform.*
- Re-form — to form again. *The band re-formed.*
- Reformation — the sixteenth-century religious movement. *The Reformation.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | reform | Reform the law. |
| Noun | reform | Prison reform. |
| Person | reformer | A social reformer. |
| Adjective | reformed | A reformed character. |
| Hyphenated | re-form | Re-form the queue. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The group re-formed in 2010.Formed again.
- He is a reformed character.Improved.
- The Reformation split western Christianity.From 1517.
Hyphen pairs
- reform / re-form — improve, or form again
- recover / re-cover — get better, or cover again
- resign / re-sign — quit, or sign again
- recreate / re-create — enjoy leisure, or create again
- release / re-lease — set free, or lease again
From Latin *reformare*, to form again or transform, from *re* and *formare*, to shape.
When is the hyphen needed?
When the unhyphenated word already has a settled different meaning. Re-form, re-cover and re-sign all need it.
What was the Reformation?
The sixteenth-century movement that split western Christianity, conventionally dated from Luther's protest in 1517.