brainwash
Americanverb (used with object)
-
brainwashes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
brainwashed,
past participle, past
-
brainwashing
present participle
noun
-
the process of brainwashing.
-
a subjection to brainwashing.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
brainwashsimple
-
brainwashessimple
-
have brainwashedperfect
-
has brainwashedperfect
-
am brainwashingprogressive
-
are brainwashingprogressive
-
is brainwashingprogressive
-
have been brainwashingperfect progressive
-
has been brainwashingperfect progressive
Past
-
brainwashedsimple
-
had brainwashedperfect
-
was brainwashingprogressive
-
were brainwashingprogressive
-
had been brainwashingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of brainwash
First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from brainwashing
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As legal analyst Mark Joseph Stern explained at Slate, Alito “reframes these utterly innocent children’s books as insidious propaganda designed to brainwash children.”
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2025
“It created a model that proved to local municipalities, to local politicians that these spaces weren’t dangerous places that are going to brainwash your kids or whatever.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
He said that unscrupulous leaders are able to brainwash people and take advantage of their desire to find a solution to their problems.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2023
“If we had the power to brainwash kids, we’d have them do their homework.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 6, 2022
They can design dream weapons that come to life in my hands, but they will never again brainwash me into the necessity of using them.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Young people mustn’t watch too many films with violence because it brainwashes and disturbs them.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 6, 2015
I am not saying the Army brainwashes you.
From Time Magazine Archive
In a totalitarian sci-fi world, a hammer thrown by a young athlete smashes a "Big Brother" figure declaiming to brainwashed citizens from a vast screen.
From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026
Mark Harris realized that his father and Freeman had brainwashed him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
They have been brainwashed into thinking it's not just 'the right way' to play, it's also 'the only way' - but there are many pitfalls to this approach and my priorities were always very different.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025
Families claimed their loved ones had been "brainwashed," and groups like the Cult Awareness Network emerged to fight back.
From Salon ● May 18, 2025
"That's the poison they put in your mind, boy. They brainwashed you into thinking you can remember."
From "Freak The Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick
"Actually, there's brainwashing here in China too, but it's not as severe," he said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026
Shakespeare put all his understanding of human nature into Iago’s brainwashing master class.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026
She accuses the group of "brainwashing" her son, convincing him they were defending the ethnic Kurdish minorities in Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2025
As long as this public perception remains and compounds with Stake’s already shady reputation, then the brainwashing might fall flat.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2024
“It’s one of those brainwashing things,” she told me.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
