Meaning & use
democratic reform
Last updated
UK/ˌdeməˈkrætɪk rɪˈfɔːm/
US/ˌdeməˈkrætɪk rɪˈfɔːrm/
Meaning
nouncountable or uncountable
A change made to a political system to make it more democratic, such as giving people more voting power.
Grammar: Can be used with 'a' or without an article: 'a democratic reform' or 'democratic reform'.
Patterns
- democratic reform in [country]
- a series of democratic reforms
- push for democratic reform
- introduce democratic reforms
The new leader promised democratic reform, including free local elections.
Democratic reform in the region has been slow but steady.
The protestors demanded a series of democratic reforms.
Word forms
| plural | democratic reforms |
|---|
Common combinations
- push for democratic reform
- Citizens continued to push for democratic reform despite the risks.
- sweeping democratic reforms
- The government announced sweeping democratic reforms after the protests.
- a wave of democratic reform
- A wave of democratic reform swept across the continent in the 1990s.
- block democratic reform
- Hardliners tried to block democratic reform at every step.
Synonyms and how they differ
- political reform
- Political reform is broader and can include any change to politics, not necessarily making it more democratic.
- liberalization
- Liberalization often refers to loosening restrictions, which may be part of democratic reform but does not always involve increasing people's power.
Opposites
authoritarian crackdownrepression
Word family
Practice
Which sentence uses 'democratic reform' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly describes a political change. The other options use the phrase in nonsensical contexts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “democratic reform”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.