reformatory 1 of 2

adjective

ri-ˈfȯr-mə-ˌtȯr-ē How to pronounce reformatory (audio)
Definition of reformatorynext
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

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reformatory

2 of 2

noun

as in reform school

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Dissimilar Words

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
  1. reformative
  2. reform school
  3. corrective
  4. dungeon
  5. training school
  6. gulag
  7. oubliette
  8. keep
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
  • Advertisement The pair’s investigation starts at the Indiana boys reform school where Manson spent two years.
    — Jake Kring-Schreifels, Time, 22 July 2026
  • Based on the true story of a reform school where Black boys went missing, the novel pairs the stories of two teens, one a troublemaker and the other caught up by mistake.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of reform school
Adjective
  • And in Minnesota, state officials have been executing a thorough corrective action plan to defray CMS concerns that have led the agency to defer some $260 million in federal money and to threaten future cuts.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 July 2026
  • With Inspectorio, Pistola Denim will standardize in-line and final inspections across its global supplier base and access real-time dashboards to monitor supply quality performance and streamline corrective action management.
    — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 21 July 2026
Definition of corrective
Noun
  • Torre, meanwhile, would serve as dungeon master, steering the gang through exhibit after exhibit.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 21 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of dungeon
Noun
  • An enterprising businessman could see this kind of inefficiency and start an assassin training school in Westeros, kind of like whatever is going on with the ballerinas in the John Wick universe.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 27 July 2026
  • In September 2024, ‌JNIM attacked a paramilitary police training school near the ⁠Bamako airport, killing about 70 people.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 4 July 2026
Definition of training school
Noun
  • Witherspoon’s Bradley Jackson ends up in a gulag in Belarus and Alex Levy, played by Aniston was pushed out of the company by Marion Cotillard’s Celine Dumont.
    — Peter White, Deadline, 23 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of gulag
Noun
  • One is a stony oubliette with crystals growing out of the walls.
    — Erin Alberty, Axios, 6 Jan. 2025
Definition of oubliette
Noun
  • By the end of the game, Spain were playing keep-ball, toying with their opponents as ‘Oles’ reverberated around the stadium.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 18 July 2026
  • Still think this one can keep going higher, as AI fuels a financing boom and M & A keeps happening.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 16 July 2026
Definition of keep

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Cite this Entry

“Reformatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reformatory. Accessed 30 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on reformatory

Nglish: Translation of reformatory for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about reformatory

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