deprogram
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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:
“I thought it was time to deprogram that thought.”
From New York Times ● Aug. 12, 2021
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
“You get kind of goofy and start identifying with your captor, so to speak. And I would call people at night and say, ‘Look, deprogram me.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 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
This is essential listening for anyone who’s ever been in the grips of the diet industrial complex, and wants to get deprogrammed.
From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2022
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
So, for me, going to college was deprogramming who other people thought I was.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2021
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
