reformatory

1 of 2

adjective

re·​for·​ma·​to·​ry ri-ˈfȯr-mə-ˌtȯr-ē 

: reformative

reformatory

2 of 2

noun

plural reformatories

: a penal institution to which especially young or first offenders are committed for training and reformation

Synonyms

Adjective

• amendatory
• corrective
• rectifying
• reformative
• remedial
• remedying

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

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

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1589, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1834, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

reformatory

1 of 2 adjective

re·​for·​ma·​to·​ry ri-ˈfȯr-mə-ˌtōr-ē 

-ˌtȯr-

: reformative

reformatory

2 of 2 noun

plural reformatories

: an institution for reforming usually young or female criminals or those in jail for the first time

Legal Definition

reformatory

noun

re·​for·​ma·​to·​ry

ri-ˈfȯr-mə-ˌtōr-ē

plural reformatories

: a penal institution to which especially young or first offenders are committed for training and reformation