reformatory

adjective

1. serving or designed to reform: reformatory punishments.

   reformatory lectures;

   reformatory punishments.

noun

, plural re·form·a·to·ries.

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

reformatory

/ -trɪ; rɪˈfɔːmətərɪ /

noun

1. Also calledreform school (formerly) a place of instruction where young offenders were sent for corrective training Compare approved school

adjective

1. having the purpose or function of reforming

Other Words From

• pre·re·form·a·to·ry adjective
• pseu·do·re·form·a·to·ry adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of reformatory¹

First recorded in 1580–90 reformatory fordef 1; in 1750–60 reformatory fordef 2; reform ( def ) + -atory ( def ).

Example Sentences

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.

From Washington Post

The state reformatory was abandoned, and scheduled for demolition once the film was finished.

From The Daily Beast

The Panopticon By Jenni Fagan A teenage heroine is sent to a reformatory in this dystopian novel.

From The Daily Beast

Opposite him is Jack, whose previous experience in a reformatory has "put him wise," as he expresses it.

From Project Gutenberg

The answer is plain: as in other reformatory institutions, there will be some successes and some failures.

From Project Gutenberg

Massachusetts is charged with the support of a great number of charitable and reformatory institutions.

From Project Gutenberg

We miss, too, in the prison, another essential element of a reformatory institution.

From Project Gutenberg

In other parts of France, as well as in Barn, Jeanne's reformatory movements were looked upon with great disfavor.

From Project Gutenberg