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.

“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

"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

They made us watch a film, a terrible bit of puritanical brainwash.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

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