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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as in reform school
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reformatory
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
Essence, 13 Feb. 2025
On the cusp of college, he’s instead sentenced to time at a notorious reformatory.
—Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for 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
James Thompson remembered the words of the state psychologist he was required to visit weekly in Charlotte after being released from the state reformatory.
—Essence, 13 Feb. 2025
On the cusp of college, he’s instead sentenced to time at a notorious reformatory.
—Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reformatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reformatory
Adjective
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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
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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
Noun
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This staggering drama forces the viewer to bear witness to brutal conditions at a corrupt reform school through the eyes of two of its students — literally.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Dec. 2025
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The Netflix drama, directed by Tim Mielants and written by Max Porter, is a reimagining of Porter’s best-selling novel Shy and follows a pivotal day in the life of head teacher Steve (Murphy) and his students at a last-chance reform school.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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At the time of Jaxon’s death, the county was nearing the end of an 18-month corrective action plan aimed at improving oversight and safety within the system.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
20 Apr. 2026
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The reframe worked like a set of corrective lenses, sharpening sentimental mush into something with meaning and claws.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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As the castle’s internal order collapses under the weight of a string of baffling crimes, Araki strikes a fragile alliance with Kuroda Kanbei – a razor-minded captive languishing in his own dungeon – in a race to root out a traitor before Oda’s army closes in.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2026
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The businessman and father was living in kind of a hell associated with a Third World dungeon -- complete with racial slurs.—
Troy Roberts,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Hulu set the mood for the evening when two dozen young women, dressed in their Gilead wife-training school’s purple uniforms, walked in solemn unison down the carpet, each carrying a small pie and boarding a bus with curtains covering the windows.—
Alex Cramer,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Apr. 2026
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On this date in 1892, the 13 original rules of basketball were printed in the training school newspaper for the Springfield YMCA.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Stalin was also targeting Polish Catholics, and thousands of these prisoners also survived the gulag.—
Marc Weingarten,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
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The door locks sound like something out of a 1970s gulag.—
Joel Feder,
The Drive,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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One is a stony oubliette with crystals growing out of the walls.—
Erin Alberty,
Axios,
6 Jan. 2025
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This godown was an oubliette.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harper’s Magazine ,
7 Dec. 2021
Noun
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In a micro dining room, functionality is key; every piece has to earn its keep.—
Kathryn O'Shea-Evans,
Architectural Digest,
16 Apr. 2026
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Advanced safety technology — lane-keep assist, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, collision warnings and more — all add to the cost of a vehicle.—
Alexa St. John,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reformatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reformatory. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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