brainwash

or brain-wash, brain wash

[ breyn-wosh, -wawsh ]
See synonyms for: brainwashbrainwashedbrainwashingbrainwasher on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to cause (someone) to undergo brainwashing.

noun
  1. the process of brainwashing.

  2. a subjection to brainwashing.

Origin of brainwash

1
First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from brainwashing

Other words from brainwash

  • brainwasher, noun

Words Nearby brainwash

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use brainwash in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for brainwash

brainwash

/ (ˈbreɪnˌwɒʃ) /


verb
  1. (tr) to effect a radical change in the ideas and beliefs of (a person), esp by methods based on isolation, sleeplessness, hunger, extreme discomfort, pain, and the alternation of kindness and cruelty

Derived forms of brainwash

  • brainwasher, noun
  • brainwashing, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012