Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One who is of the reformed religion; a Protestant.
- noun One who proposes or favors a political reform.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A reformer.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Advocating reform of an institution or body.
- adjective Specifically, advocating
reform and the gradual accumulation of small changes, as opposed torevolutionary action. - noun One who advocates reform (of an institution).
- noun Specifically, one who advocates
reform of society and the gradual accumulation of small changes, as opposed torevolutionary action. - noun dated, 17th C. An advocate of reform in the Church of England; a
Reformer . - noun dated, 18th century An advocate or supporter of political reform in the United Kingdom. (Common from
ca 1790 to 1830.) - noun A member of a
reformed religious denomination .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective favoring or promoting reform (often by government action)
- noun a disputant who advocates reform
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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It was difficult to use the word reformist to describe Mousavi, because Iran’s political landscape had turned upside down during his absence, and little was known about what ideas and resolve may have incubated in the meantime.
Let the Swords Encircle Me Scott Peterson 2010
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Criticizing them for being too reformist is just totally missing the point.
Matthew Yglesias » Sherri Berman: Progressives Must Believe in Change 2009
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The second version -- call it reformist -- is more painful, because it's based on the recognition that, though Bush's fatal incompetence and Rove's shortsighted tactics hastened the conservative movement's demise, they didn't cause it.
The Fall Of Conservatism? - Real Clear Politics – TIME.com 2008
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Abdullah is known as a reformist in the ultra-conservative nation, but change has been slow-moving.
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You weren’t born a reformist. are you talking about extremist toddlers or something then? as for myself, I have been a reformist from the age I was politically aware, holding by and large the same ideals since then
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The subsequent shuttering of dozens of so-called reformist newspapers had the unintended effect of triggering the explosion of the Iranian blogosphere.
Iran Vows to Unplug Internet Christopher Rhoads 2011
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But Ahmadinejad's supporters eagerly depicted the "old imperialist" as a prime mover behind what they, in a neat inversion of reality, called the reformist "coup d'état."
Iran: The Revenge Anonymous, 2009
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Both Mr. Karroubi and candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, two so-called reformist candidates running against the hard-line conservative Mr. Ahmadinejad, are trying to woo young, middle-class voters, who have grown disenchanted with politics in recent voting.
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Former President Mohammad Khatami, a so-called reformist who led Iran for two terms before Mr. Ahmadinejad's 2005 victory, called over the weekend for a referendum on the president's re-election.
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In 1997, Mohammad Khatami, a so-called reformist ran for presidency with a message of "liberalization" and "reform" and unleashed our passion for democracy.
Sara Dehghan: Growing Up in Iran and Watching the Election From the U.S. 2009
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