Reforming

How to spell reforming

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce reforming

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reforming mean?

1. verbMaking changes to an institution, system, or practice in order to improve it.
2. verbComing together or taking shape once more after being broken up or dispersed.

Reforming in a sentence

• The new minister is committed to reforming the pension system.

• The band announced they were reforming for a single farewell tour.

• The committee spent two years reforming the outdated planning rules.

• The troops were reforming their ranks after the river crossing.

Where does reforming come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the present participle of the verb 'reform', which English took from the Old French 'reformer' in the late 1300s, itself drawn directly from the Latin 'reformare'. That Latin verb combined 're-', meaning 'again' or 'back', with 'formare', 'to shape or form', which in turn rests on 'forma', the everyday Latin word for a shape, mould, or pattern. The literal sense was therefore 'to shape again' or 'to form anew', and from that grew the moral and political meaning of putting something right by changing it for the better. The same 'forma' root sits inside the familiar words 'form', 'format', 'formula', and 'uniform', which is a useful anchor for remembering the single 'm' and the plain 'form' spine in the middle. When the prefix simply means 'again' in the most literal physical sense, writers sometimes hyphenate it as 're-forming', but the run-together spelling is standard for the ordinary meaning of improvement.

How the word is built

• re- (again/back)
• form (shape, from Latin forma)
• -ing (verb participle)