Dictionary.com

brainwash

or brain-wash, brain wash

[ breyn-wosh, -wawsh ]
/ ˈbreɪnˌwɒʃ, -ˌwɔʃ /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: brainwash / brainwashed / brainwashing / brainwasher on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
to cause (someone) to undergo brainwashing.
noun
the process of brainwashing.
a subjection to brainwashing.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of brainwash

First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from brainwashing

OTHER WORDS FROM brainwash

brainwasher, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use brainwash in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for brainwash

brainwash
/ (ˈbreɪnˌwɒʃ) /

verb
(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, nounbrainwashing, 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
FEEDBACK