reformatory

Save This Word!

See synonyms for reformatory on Thesaurus.com

adjective

serving or designed to reform: reformatory lectures; reformatory punishments.

noun, plural re·form·a·to·ries.

Also called reform school . (no longer in official use) a penal institution for reforming young offenders, especially minors. See also juvenile detention center.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of reformatory

First recorded in 1580–90 for def. 1; in 1750–60 for def. 2; reform + -atory.

OTHER WORDS FROM reformatory

pre·re·form·a·to·ry, adjectivepseu·do·re·form·a·to·ry, adjective

Words nearby reformatory

reflux oesophagitis, reforest, reform, reformate, reformation, reformatory, Reform Bill, reformed, Reformed Church in America, reformed spelling, reformer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use reformatory in a sentence

The YPA’s most famous alumnus, Bronx orphan Harry Eisman, was elected as head of the International Children’s Congress in Moscow while he was held in a New York reformatory.
Students are protesting covid policies — and the adults who won’t listen to them|Jack Hodgson|January 18, 2022|Washington Post
The state reformatory was abandoned, and scheduled for demolition once the film was finished.
20 Things You Didn’t Know About 'The Shawshank Redemption'|Bill Schulz|August 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Panopticon By Jenni Fagan A teenage heroine is sent to a reformatory in this dystopian novel.
This Week’s Hot Reads: July 22, 2013|Cameron Martin|July 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Opposite him is Jack, whose previous experience in a reformatory has "put him wise," as he expresses it.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman

The answer is plain: as in other reformatory institutions, there will be some successes and some failures.
Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions|George S. Boutwell
Massachusetts is charged with the support of a great number of charitable and reformatory institutions.
Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions|George S. Boutwell
We miss, too, in the prison, another essential element of a reformatory institution.
Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions|George S. Boutwell
In other parts of France, as well as in Barn, Jeanne's reformatory movements were looked upon with great disfavor.
History of the Rise of the Huguenots|Henry Baird

British Dictionary definitions for reformatory

reformatory

/ (rɪˈfɔːmətərɪ, -trɪ) /

noun plural -ries

Also called: reform school (formerly) a place of instruction where young offenders were sent for corrective trainingCompare approved school

adjective

having the purpose or function of reforming

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

reformatory

Origin of reformatory

OTHER WORDS FROM reformatory

Words nearby reformatory

Words related to reformatory

How to use reformatory in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for reformatory