brainwash
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
-
the process of brainwashing.
-
a subjection to brainwashing.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
brainwashsimple
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brainwashessimple
-
have brainwashedperfect
-
has brainwashedperfect
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am brainwashingprogressive
-
are brainwashingprogressive
-
is brainwashingprogressive
-
have been brainwashingperfect progressive
-
has been brainwashingperfect progressive
Past
-
brainwashedsimple
-
had brainwashedperfect
-
was brainwashingprogressive
-
were brainwashingprogressive
-
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 that's what they do to brainwash," she continued.
From Salon ● May 25, 2023
He said that unscrupulous leaders are able to brainwash people and take advantage of their desire to find a solution to their problems.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2023
“If we had the power to brainwash kids, we’d have them do their homework.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 6, 2022
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
She said: "Technologies are advancing and becoming more complex and almost controlling. Some people could be brainwashed into thinking some things that are not real."
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 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
Ellis, I love you even though you are brainwashed.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
Sen Risa Hontiveros said platforms had become "nests for brainwashing and radicalising our youth".
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
"Actually, there's brainwashing here in China too, but it's not as severe," he said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026
Shakespeare put all his understanding of human nature into Iago’s brainwashing master class.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026
Rather than brainwashing us, the objective of the totalitarian is to bludgeon us into apathy, resignation and passivity.
From Salon ● May 24, 2025
We troop down for the brainwashing and she can’t stop talking.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
