REFORMATORY Synonyms: 69 Similar and Opposite Words

reformatory 1 of 2

adjective

ri-ˈfȯr-mə-ˌtȯr-ē

Definition of reformatory

as in reformative

serving to raise or adjust something to some standard or proper condition the belief that manual labor was a reformatory experience for convicted felons, who would learn the value of hard work

Synonyms & Similar Words

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reformatory

2 of 2

noun

as in reform school

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

outside

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of reformatory

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

The Koskinen baby was reunited with his mother, and Marzano went to a reformatory. — Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News, 3 May 2025 Due’s novel follows a 12-year-old boy in the 1950s sentenced to an infamous reformatory where ghosts in the halls tell stories about the boys that have been abused and gone missing there. — Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for reformatory

Recent Examples of Synonyms for reformatory

Adjective

As part of the reformative aims of the convict system, many of these men were incarcerated at Fremantle Prison, trained, and put to work on infrastructure projects such as bridges, roads, and public buildings.

— Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 Aug. 2025
Fifty-five years after Martin Luther King's death, African Americans continue to proudly honor his reformative legacy in Phoenix.

— The Arizona Republic, The Arizona Republic, 14 Jan. 2024

Definition of reformative

Noun

At age 9, he was sent to reform school and then spent much of the next two decades of his life in correctional facilities.

— Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 30 Apr. 2026
After entering reform school at the age of 9, Coe spent most of the next 20 years of his life in and out of prisons for charges ranging from armed robbery to auto theft, according to a 2005 Rolling Stone article.

— Melina Khan, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026

Definition of reform school

Adjective

After reviewing the anomaly and SpaceX's corrective actions, the Federal Aviation Administration cleared the company to resume Starship launches.

— Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 14 July 2026
These charts suggest Brazil has established a corrective low, with improving momentum following deeply oversold conditions.

— Katie Stockton, CNBC, 13 July 2026

Definition of corrective

Noun

Prison life hasn't been easy on Otto, who has dungeon hair, sunken eyes and a scraggly beard.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 29 June 2026
When Daemon goes to kill Orwyle – heads must roll, after all, and Aegon is nowhere to be found – Orwyle sends him to the dungeons for Lord Wylde.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

Definition of dungeon

Noun

In September 2024, ‌JNIM attacked a paramilitary police training school near the ⁠Bamako airport, killing about 70 people.

— Reuters, NBC news, 4 July 2026
The leaders, who last met in Beijing in September, also toured a ruling Workers’ Party training school and planted a fir tree symbolizing bilateral ties.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 June 2026

Definition of training school

Noun

During that period, more than one million Kazakhs died in famine, while roughly two million people were imprisoned or deported to gulags on politically motivated charges.

— Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 26 May 2026
Stalin was also targeting Polish Catholics, and thousands of these prisoners also survived the gulag.

— Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2026

Definition of gulag

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“Reformatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reformatory. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of reformatory

adjective

noun

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