deprogram
Americanverb (used with object)
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to free (a convert) from the influence of a religious cult, political indoctrination, etc., by intensive persuasion or reeducation.
-
to retrain, as for the purpose of eliminating or replacing a learned or acquired behavior pattern or habit that is undesirable or unsuitable.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deprogram
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:
It has been a 20-year process to deprogram that worldview.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2024
A renowned authority on mind control encounters a formidable challenge when he is hired to deprogram a strong-willed cultist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2021
It is hard work to deprogram ourselves of institutionalized language, even for the best of those reporting on abuses in the criminal legal system, even for me at times.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 18, 2020
He now laughs at the notion — “if painting died, it was for two minutes between 1981 and 1992” — but it took him years, and a trans-Atlantic relocation, to deprogram.
From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2020
I deprogram the air filters and open the windows.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
Seeing my devastation, he concocted a weak compliment--"nice growth formation of the hair"--but I was already woefully deprogramed.
From Time Magazine Archive
Back in July, Stout posted a TikTok where she explains how she essentially deprogrammed herself from far-right ideology, and it went viral—it has over 3 million views.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2025
I believe in standing up against such evil I have been confronting danger since I was deprogrammed from the Moonies 48 years ago.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2024
“We are getting deprogrammed right now,” he said with a rueful chuckle.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 23, 2022
“He’s been deprogrammed and he can no longer hide from all that baggage,” says Spellman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2021
Scott never found out that his mother deprogrammed the VCR, cleared its memory and 'Twelved' the clock an hour before he arrived to show her how to use it.
From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Winn Schwartau
"Counter-terrorism police and Prevent are excellent at deprogramming children who have been caught into ideological movements," she told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
This is the beginning of intense deprogramming, and I just hope to God the people that help her along the way are actually there for the right reasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2021
If you can teach somebody critical thinking when they're young, hopefully you don't have to do any cult deprogramming later in their lives.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2021
For Korver, that confidence base includes deprogramming some of the ways women are socialized.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2021
The name of the game is deprogramming, according to Dr. Cheryl Fuller, a Jungian psychotherapist with whom I discussed your question.
From Slate ● Jun. 21, 2021
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