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
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
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
See All Example Sentences for reformatory
Adjective
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
Noun
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
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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Steve is a reimagining of Max Porter’s 2023 Sunday Times bestseller Shy, and twists that story on its axis to be told from reform school headteacher Steve’s point of view.—
Nancy Tartaglione,
Deadline,
8 Oct. 2025
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Murphy stars as the title character, a head teacher at a reform school for boys.—
Ralphie Aversa,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In 2006, the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a corrective action order, requiring the company to address integrity issues along the entirety of its 3,900-mile Pacific Coast pipelines after a rise in pipeline incidents.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
25 Oct. 2025
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To Kean, these attempts to resurrect the past are a refreshing corrective to traditional archeology.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As a result, many legends are connected to its violent past, and its dungeon, in particular, is said to be haunted by tortured souls.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
22 Oct. 2025
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Hidden passageways, dungeons frozen in time, and eerie corridors are like catnip for those with a proclivity toward the paranormal.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Other directives call for enforcement of tougher department-wide fitness standards and calls for a 60-day review of what is taught at the military service academies and training schools.—
Anne Flaherty,
ABC News,
30 Sep. 2025
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The former gymnasium for the laborer training school that once occupied the property and now serves as Olivet’s chapel is decorated with holiday decor on December 13, 2022, for an upcoming choir concert.—
Alex J. Rouhandeh,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Many thousands of scientists were killed or sent to the gulag, where a significant percentage died.—
Scott Montgomery,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Polar gulags are also the preferred place to send political prisoners who threaten the government, such as the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died under suspicious circumstances in one such prison in 2024.—
Michael Albertus,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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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This silk scarf earns its keep a dozen times over.—
Samantha Leal,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Oct. 2025
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In Secretary Doug Burgum’s view, Yosemite is a good park—one that attracts visitors and earns its keep.—
Gloria Liu,
Outside Online,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reformatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reformatory. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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