Synonyms

brainwash

American

[breyn-wosh, -wawsh] / ˈbreɪnˌwɒʃ, -ˌwɔʃ /

Or brain-wash,

verb (used with object)

to cause (someone) to undergo brainwashing.

noun

the process of brainwashing.
a subjection to brainwashing.

brainwash British

/ 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

"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

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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.

“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

"And they brainwash people to join and they convince them of all of these things, and it's really, really hard to get out of it."

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2022

“If we had the power to brainwash kids, we’d have them do their homework.”

From Washington Times • Nov. 6, 2022

"He was trying to brainwash me, manipulate me and he still had control of me and I didn't like it," she said.

From BBC • Oct. 7, 2021

“I’m not here to brainwash you,” he tells us.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023