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

Other Word Forms

brainwasher noun
brainwashing noun

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.

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

The Bombay and Gujarat high courts warned that censorship couldn't be used to "brainwash the public".

From BBC • Jun. 24, 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

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

From Washington Times • Nov. 6, 2022

Anyway, I think Mr. Neely has managed to brainwash me with his hashtags and experiments, because I kept thinking about the scientific process during therapy.

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