plural reformatories
: a penal institution to which especially young or first offenders are committed for training and reformation
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
Randee Dawn, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024
While Spanish Catholicism and reformatory Protestantism favored black clothing, much of the Renaissance happened in an explosion of color.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
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
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Adjective
In the film about two teens in a reformatory school, the camera becomes the point-of-view of a couple of characters, while other characters look directly into the lens.
—Randee Dawn, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024
While Spanish Catholicism and reformatory Protestantism favored black clothing, much of the Renaissance happened in an explosion of color.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 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
Cite this Entry
“Reformatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reformatory. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
reformatory
1 of 2 adjective
re·for·ma·to·ry
ri-ˈfȯr-mə-ˌtōr-ē 
-ˌtȯr-
reformatory
2 of 2 noun
plural reformatories
: an institution for reforming usually young or female criminals or those in jail for the first time
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