Definition of "reformatory"

reformatory

/ɹəˈfɔɹməˌtɔɹi/

adjective
comparative more reformatory, superlative most reformatory
1. Of, pertaining to, or conducive to reform; reformative.
  Quotations
  Other reformatory schools might not strike that balance between reform and education.
  2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 49
noun
plural reformatories
1. A prison, especially one for juveniles; a reform school.
  Quotations
  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