Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A penal institution for the discipline, reformation, and training of young or first offenders.
- adjective Reformative.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Having a tendency to reform or renovate; reformative.
- noun An institution for the reception and reformation of youths who have already begun a career of vice or crime.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Tending to produce reformation; reformative.
- noun An institution for promoting the reformation of offenders.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of, pertaining to, or
conducive toreform ;reformative . - noun A
prison , especially one forjuveniles ; areform school .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective tending to reform
- noun correctional institution for the detention and discipline and training of young or first offenders
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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This idea of the United Nations as a reformatory is an illusion.
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Miss Susan B. Anthony, a well-known, indefatigable, and lifelong advocate of temperance, anti-slavery, and woman's rights, has been, since 1851, Mrs. Stanton's intimate associate in reformatory labors.
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And he was sent to the Oklahoma state reformatory, which is within my jurisdiction.
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But the reformatory was a horse of a totally different color.
Queed Henry Sydnor Harrison 1905
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But at this so-called reformatory 59 occupations were represented by the inmates,
Anarchism and Other Essays Emma Goldman 1904
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He recalled the reformatory -- and also what to him was the most awful thing he had ever heard about the State penitentiary -- they never saw the sun rise down there, and they never saw it set.
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Reformation in individual cases may take place under the most adverse circumstances; but an institution cannot be called reformatory unless its prevailing moral sentiment is actively, vigorously, and always, on the side of progress and virtue.
Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions George S. Boutwell 1861
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The report said there were 215 corrections officers for 780 inmates at the reformatory, which is considered adequate staff.
The Seattle Times 2011
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The report said there were 215 corrections officers for 780 inmates at the reformatory, which is considered adequate staff.
The Seattle Times 2011
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How about a sting at your daughter's high school, with a year in some nasty reformatory, which is to say any reformatory, for those caught?
Wal-Mart Watch 2009
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