re·for·ma·to·ry
ri-ˈfȯr-mə-ˌtȯr-ē 
plural reformatories
: a penal institution to which especially young or first offenders are committed for training and reformation
Synonyms
Examples of reformatory in a Sentence
Adjective
the belief that manual labor was a reformatory experience for convicted felons, who would learn the value of hard work
Recent Examples on the Web
JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
His mother sent him to the Élan School in Maine, a reformatory boarding institution with extreme forms of discipline, including shouting sessions and boxing matches, that attracted widespread criticism and that led to the school’s closing in 2011.
—Alex Traub, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Zac Ntim, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2024
The two-and-a-half-hour film follows two Black teenagers who become wards of a barbaric juvenile reformatory in Jim Crow-era Florida.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for reformatory 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
While Spanish Catholicism and reformatory Protestantism favored black clothing, much of the Renaissance happened in an explosion of color.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
His mother sent him to the Élan School in Maine, a reformatory boarding institution with extreme forms of discipline, including shouting sessions and boxing matches, that attracted widespread criticism and that led to the school’s closing in 2011.
—Alex Traub, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Noun
On the cusp of college, he’s instead sentenced to time at a notorious reformatory.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2024
The two-and-a-half-hour film follows two Black teenagers who become wards of a barbaric juvenile reformatory in Jim Crow-era Florida.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for reformatory
Dictionary Entries Near reformatory
Cite this Entry
“Reformatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reformatory. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
reformatory
1 of 2 adjective
re·for·ma·to·ry
ri-ˈfȯr-mə-ˌtōr-ē
-ˌtȯr-
reformatory
2 of 2 noun
plural reformatories
: an institution for reforming usually young or female criminals or those in jail for the first time
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share