menticide

American

[men-tuh-sahyd] / ˈmɛn təˌsaɪd /

noun

the systematic effort to undermine and destroy a person's values and beliefs, as by the use of prolonged interrogation, drugs, torture, etc., and to induce radically different ideas.

Etymology

Origin of menticide

1950–55; < Latin ment- (stem of mēns ) mind + -i- + -cide

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.

“Menticide,” announced the Columbia University psychiatrist Joost Meerloo, was a crime against humanity analogous to — or even worse than — genocide.

From New York Times

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