brainwash

Or brain-wash,

[breyn-wosh, -wawsh]

verb (used with object)

1. to cause (someone) to undergo brainwashing.

noun

1. the process of brainwashing.

2. a subjection to brainwashing.

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

Other Word Forms

• brainwasher noun
• brainwashing noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of brainwash¹

First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from brainwashing

Example Sentences

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.

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When Ms. Rosario was working, which was almost all the time, Mosley stopped by to make sure Michael hadn’t been kidnapped by psychopaths or brainwashed by daytime television.

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The CIA was particularly concerned that the pilot might have been drugged and brainwashed by the Russians.

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"The continuing brainwashing of 'you can only play in this way', up until recently scared the living daylights out of coaches, particularly young coaches," he says.

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Cult members who all lived there took part in a catalogue of abuse against children and young adults, with victims saying the group used occult writings and practices to "brainwash" them and justify their abuse.

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Related Words

• educate 
• indoctrinate