reform school
10
6.8
- noun
- /rɪˈfɔrm skuːl/
- Archaic
:
reformatorio
- My mother worked to keep my brother and me in Lincoln Grammar School and out of reform school, which was a full-time job in those days.
- Christian reform school
I would end up in jail, reform school or the grave.
- I would end up in jail, reform school or the grave.
- In the end I got most of my education and approved school which is what the Americans call a reform school.
Examples
-
Paris grew up with a poor, abusive mother who sent him to reform school at 10.
Blog text (17) -
I was in reform school all the time.
-
You never told us about your police record and four years of reform school.
-
Did he attend a reform school?
-
Oh, she'll probably go to reform school.
-
Ron himself has been in reform school.
Fiction book (1997) -
He was my pal in reform school.
-
Henry Addison was a guard in an upstate reform school.
-
The place looks more like a reform school than a prison, although I hadn't been expecting barracks and guard towers.
Academic text (1997) -
After several warnings, the judge decided that sending him to reform school would be the best option for his rehabilitation.
Synonyms
15
6.3
A locked place where young people who break the law are kept
10
4.2
A building like a prison where people are kept as punishment and given training
4
8.3
A place where young people who break the law are sent to be taught to behave better
1
6.5
A place where young people who have broken the law stay temporarily under court supervision
1
9.9
A former place in Britain for young people too young for prison who committed crimes
1
4.1
A place where people found guilty of crimes are kept and given help to change their behaviour
1
6.4
A place that holds young people who broke the law and helps them learn better behavior
A place where people are kept by the government and forced to change their beliefs or behavior
A place where people who broke the law stay to learn better behaviour and get help
How Strict
37
7.0
15
6.3
- Archaic
10
6.8
1
3.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
reform + school
The meaning is compositionally derived from 'reform' (to improve or correct behaviour) + 'school' (an institution for instruction), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it is a school whose purpose is to reform people. While specific legal/detention nuances (juvenile offenders, corrective measures) may require cultural knowledge, the core sense is transparent and predictable from the constituents.
Etymology
The phrase reform school comes from the words reform (to 'correct' or 'fix' bad behavior) and school (a place to learn). These were places where young people who had broken the law were sent to learn skills and discipline, so the name now means a place to try to 'reform' troubled young people.