Reformation

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Reformation \Ref`or*ma"tion\ (r?f`?r*m?"sh?n), n. [F.
     r['e]formation, L. reformatio.]
     1. The act of reforming, or the state of being reformed;
        change from worse to better; correction or amendment of
        life, manners, or of anything vicious or corrupt; as, the
        reformation of manners; reformation of the age;


        reformation of abuses.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Satire lashes vice into reformation.  --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Specifically (Eccl. Hist.), the important religious
        movement commenced by Luther early in the sixteenth
        century, which resulted in the formation of the various
        Protestant churches.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Reform; amendment; correction; rectification.
  
     Usage: {Reformation}, {Reform}. Reformation is a more
            thorough and comprehensive change than reform. It is
            applied to subjects that are more important, and
            results in changes which are more lasting. A
            reformation involves, and is followed by, many
            particular reforms. "The pagan converts mention this
            great reformation of those who had been the greatest
            sinners, with that sudden and surprising change which
            the Christian religion made in the lives of the most
            profligate." --Addison. "A variety of schemes, founded
            in visionary and impracticable ideas of reform, were
            suddenly produced." --Pitt.
            [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Re-formation \Re`-for*ma"tion\ (r?`f?r*m?"sh?n), n.
     The act of forming anew; a second forming in order; as, the
     reformation of a column of troops into a hollow square.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  re-formation
       n : forming again (especially with improvements or removal of
           defects); renewing and reconstituting [syn: {regeneration}]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  reformation
       n 1: improvement (or an intended improvement) in the existing
            form or condition of institutions or practices etc.;
            intended to make a striking change for the better in
            social or political or religious affairs
       2: a religious movement of the 16th century that began as an
          attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted
          in the creation of Protestant churches [syn: {Protestant
          Reformation}]
       3: rescuing from error and returning to a rightful course; "the
          reclamation of delinquent children" [syn: {reclamation}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  116 Moby Thesaurus words for "reformation":
     Fabianism, abject apology, about-face, accommodation, adaptation,
     adjustment, adoption, alteration, amelioration, amendment, apology,
     apostasy, betterment, break, change, change of allegiance,
     change of heart, change of mind, changeableness, circumcision,
     constructive change, continuity, conversion, deathbed repentance,
     defection, degeneration, degenerative change, deterioration,
     deviation, difference, discontinuity, divergence, diversification,
     diversion, diversity, extremism, fitting, flip-flop,
     gradual change, gradualism, heartfelt apology, improvement,
     instauration, mea culpa, melioration, meliorism, mitigation,
     modification, modulation, new birth, new life, overthrow, penance,
     penitence, progressivism, qualification, radical change,
     radical reform, radicalism, re-creation, reactivation, realignment,
     rebirth, reclamation, reconstitution, reconversion, recrudescence,
     redeemedness, redemption, redesign, redintegration, reenactment,
     reestablishment, reform, reformism, regeneration, rehabilitation,
     reinstatement, reinstation, reinstitution, reinvestiture,
     reinvestment, remaking, renascence, renewal, repentance,
     replacement, reshaping, restitution, restoration, restructuring,
     reversal, reversion, revisionism, revival, revivification,
     revolution, saeta, salvation, second birth, shift,
     spiritual purification, sudden change, switch, total change,
     transformation, transition, turn, turnabout, upheaval, utopianism,
     variation, variety, violent change, wearing a hairshirt,
     worsening
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  REFORMATION, criminal law. The act of bringing back a criminal to such a 
  sense of justice, so that he may live in society without any detriment to 
  it. 
       2. The object of the criminal law ought to be to reform the criminal, 
  while it protects society by his punishment. One of the best attempts at 
  reformation is the plan of solitary confinement in a penitentiary. While the 
  convict has time to reflect he cannot be injured by evil example or corrupt 
  communication.