reformatory
adjective
serving or designed to reform: reformatory punishments.
reformatories
-
pluralof reformatory.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As a teen, Clayton-Thomas lived on the streets and passed through a series of jails and reformatories.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
In 1972, in a controversial action that would bring sweeping changes to juvenile corrections across the United States, Dr. Miller began shutting down Massachusetts’s reformatories.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2015
In examining the state child-care system in Ireland, the series brought to light a Dickensian network of reformatories and residential schools for poor, neglected and abandoned children known as industrial schools.
From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2012
The result -- for Mayan, at least -- was a three-year odyssey through various ultra-Orthodox reformatories and foster families.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2010
The labor of the children of reformatories should never be let to contractors.
From The Moral Instruction of Children by Felix Adler
