reformer

noun

re·​form·​er ri-ˈfȯr-mər How to pronounce reformer (audio)
1
: one that works for or urges reform
2
capitalized : a leader of the Protestant Reformation
3
: an apparatus for cracking oils or gases to form specialized products

Examples of reformer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
When the pendulum swung during the Progressive Era, reformers pushed the government to impose new rules that gave workers a better quality of life and a fairer chance at upward mobility. Peter Georgescu, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025 MacKay went to Congress in 1982 and became a budget and spending reformer and helped to deauthorize the Cross-Florida Barge Canal. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2025 The settlement closes the chapter on an unsuccessful effort by Florida’s largest State Attorney’s Office to bring in a reformer in the aftermath of an ethics crisis, during which prosecutors were thrown off a death penalty case and accused of misconduct. Brittany Wallman, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025 Another element of the cautionary tale is that no one likes a reformer all that much. Amelia Thomson-Deveaux, ABC News, 30 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for reformer 

Word History

First Known Use

1526, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of reformer was in 1526

Dictionary Entries Near reformer

Cite this Entry

“Reformer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reformer. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

reformer

noun
re·​form·​er ri-ˈfȯr-mər How to pronounce reformer (audio)
: one that works for reform
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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