Showing Results for "brainwashing"

See Also:

• present participle of brainwash.

brainwashing

American  

[breyn-wosh-ing, -waw-shing] / ˈbreɪnˌwɒʃ ɪŋ, -ˌwɔ ʃɪŋ /

Or brain-washing,

noun

1. a method for systematically changing attitudes or altering beliefs, originated in totalitarian countries, especially through the use of torture, drugs, or psychological-stress techniques.

2. any method of controlled systematic indoctrination, especially one based on repetition or confusion.

   brainwashing by TV commercials.

3. an instance of subjecting or being subjected to such techniques.

   efforts to halt the brainwashing of captive audiences.

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brainwashing Cultural  

1. Indoctrination that forces people to abandon their beliefs in favor of another set of beliefs. Usually associated with military and political interrogation and religious conversion, brainwashing attempts, through prolonged stress, to break down an individual's physical and mental defenses. Brainwashing techniques range from vocal persuasion and threats to punishment, physical deprivation, mind-altering drugs, and severe physical torture.

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Etymology

Origin of brainwashing

First recorded in 1945–50; brain + washing

Example Sentences

Brainwashing or not, the effect “is ingenious,” says Melanie English, a licensed clinical psychologist in Seattle.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2023

“Now I’ve found grounds for my faith: Brainwashing can succeed, but ultimately its success has its limits.”

From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2022

It was cathartic for me to make "The Brainwashing of My Dad."

From Salon • Oct. 27, 2021

Brainwashing, which entered the lexicon in 1951, became a national obsession after the Army issued a 1955 report on the manipulation of American prisoners of war in Korea.

From US News • Jul. 8, 2014

Yet despite the provocative title of his self-published 2002 collection of poems, The Era of Brainwashing, his work went mostly unnoticed.

From Time Magazine Archive