reformatory

adj, noun — 2 senses

reformatory

adj

US /ɹəˈfɔɹməˌtɔɹi/ · UK /ɹɪˈfɔː(ɹ)mətəɹi/

1

Of, pertaining to, or conducive to reform; reformative.

Other reformatory schools might not strike that balance between reform and education.2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 49:

reformatory

noun

1

A prison, especially one for juveniles; a reform school.

It was the nicest-looking property Elwood had ever seen—a real school, a good one, not the forbidding reformatory he’d conjured the last few weeks.2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 45:

Synonyms: reform school, borstal, approved school, youth detention centre, juvenile hall, detention home

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.