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:
Steven Hassan is one of the world's leading experts on cults and other dangerous organizations, as well as how to deprogram people who have succumbed to "mind control."
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2023
“It takes a lot for someone, once they’ve been indoctrinated, to deprogram them, and that’s a lot of what the story is about,” said Williams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2022
It may take you a while to figure this out, but that isn’t uncommon even when someone isn’t attempting to deprogram from the almighty RPM of an appliance.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 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
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
When I was anointed a reporter at 21, I felt as if I had been inducted into a knightly order dedicated to Truth and I’ve never been totally deprogrammed.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2023
“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 Schwartau, Winn
Abandoning a cult is relatively easy compared to unplugging from a hive; although deprogramming can be an arduous process, a hive mind hollows out everything but our skins.
From Salon ● Dec. 29, 2025
I've resisted the use of the term "deprogramming" for decades because the news media fixated on it.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2023
Braxton: Meredith, my hope is one day deprogramming you away from those horrid “Housewives.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2023
For Korver, that confidence base includes deprogramming some of the ways women are socialized.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2021
He agreed to deprogramming sessions, determined to prove to his family—and to himself—that he was in his right mind.
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2021
Definitions 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.
