Meaning & use
reformatory school
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableold-fashioned
a residential school where young people who have broken the law are sent to be educated and reformed
Grammar: Countable: a reformatory school, two reformatory schools.
Patterns
- send someone to a reformatory school
- be in a reformatory school
In the past, young offenders were often sent to a reformatory school.
The old reformatory school was closed and turned into a community center.
He spent two years in a reformatory school before returning home.
Word forms
| plural | reformatory schools |
|---|
Common combinations
- send to a reformatory school
- The judge decided to send the boy to a reformatory school.
- be sent to a reformatory school
- He was sent to a reformatory school for stealing.
- a former reformatory school
- The building is a former reformatory school.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reformatory
- Reformatory is the short form and is also old-fashioned.
- youth detention center
- This is the modern term for a place where young offenders are held.
- borstal
- Borstal was a similar institution in the UK, now also old-fashioned.
Word family
- reform verb
- to change and improve
- reformation noun
- the act of changing for the better
Commonly confused: reformatory school or reformatory?
reformatory school vs reformatory
Reformatory can be a noun meaning the school itself, or an adjective meaning intended to reform.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'reformatory school' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A reformatory school is specifically for young people who have broken the law. The other options describe different types of schools or nonsense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “reformatory school”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.