brainwash
Americanverb (used with object)
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brainwashes,
present (3rd person singular)
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brainwashed,
past participle, past
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brainwashing
present participle
noun
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the process of brainwashing.
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a subjection to brainwashing.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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brainwashsimple
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brainwashessimple
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have brainwashedperfect
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has brainwashedperfect
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am brainwashingprogressive
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are brainwashingprogressive
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is brainwashingprogressive
-
have been brainwashingperfect progressive
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has been brainwashingperfect progressive
Past
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brainwashedsimple
-
had brainwashedperfect
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was brainwashingprogressive
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were brainwashingprogressive
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had been brainwashingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
“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
"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
"He was trying to brainwash me, manipulate me and he still had control of me and I didn't like it," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2021
Instead I’m locked in a small room that smells like chorizo and stale popcorn while my archenemy continues to brainwash the community with reggaeton and free sunscreen.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
Young people mustn’t watch too many films with violence because it brainwashes and disturbs them.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 6, 2015
I am not saying the Army brainwashes you.
From Time Magazine Archive
In a totalitarian sci-fi world, a hammer thrown by a young athlete smashes a "Big Brother" figure declaiming to brainwashed citizens from a vast screen.
From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026
Mark Harris realized that his father and Freeman had brainwashed him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
They have been brainwashed into thinking it's not just 'the right way' to play, it's also 'the only way' - but there are many pitfalls to this approach and my priorities were always very different.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025
The idea that someone could be brainwashed to the point of self-destruction shook the public to its core.
From Salon ● May 18, 2025
Elijah mentioned having seen me on television and said that it seemed to him that I was not yet brainwashed and was trying to become myself.
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
"Actually, there's brainwashing here in China too, but it's not as severe," he said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026
"It means they're willing to die but not let the regime fall - because they think its fall means the end of their religion. That's how effectively the regime does brainwashing."
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
Rather than brainwashing us, the objective of the totalitarian is to bludgeon us into apathy, resignation and passivity.
From Salon ● May 24, 2025
As long as this public perception remains and compounds with Stake’s already shady reputation, then the brainwashing might fall flat.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2024
In the past he had had the reputation of being recalcitrant, stubborn, a player who marched to his own beat and always seemed to fight off the brainwashing aspects of the Mojo mystique.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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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.
