Informal to indoctrinate so intensively and thoroughly as to effect a radical transformation of beliefs and mental attitudes
brainwash
brain·wash
verb
To brainwash is to change someone's beliefs or attitudes using intense teaching and indoctrination.
An example of brainwash is to lock new religious converts in a room and teach them the details of a religion without allowing access to the outside world.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"brainwash." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/brainwash>.
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brainwash. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/brainwash
brainwash
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"brainwash." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/brainwash>.
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brainwash. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/brainwash
brainwash
transitive verb
brain·washed, brain·wash·ing, brain·wash·esTo subject to brainwashing.
noun
The process or an instance of brainwashing.
Origin of brainwash
Back-formation from brainwashingTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"brainwash." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/brainwash>.
APA Style
brainwash. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/brainwash
Noun
(uncountable)
- An effect upon one's memory, belief, or ideas.
Verb
(third-person singular simple present brainwashes, present participle brainwashing, simple past and past participle brainwashed)
- To affect one's mind by using extreme mental pressure or any other mind-affecting process. (i.e. hypnosis)
- (figuratively, dated) To take from an electronically controlled machine its stored-up information; to erase a computer's programming. (1960)
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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"brainwash." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/brainwash>.
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brainwash. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/brainwash
brainwash - Medical Definition
v.
To subject to brainwashing.
n.
The process or an instance of brainwashing.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Medicine © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"brainwash." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/brainwash>.
APA Style
brainwash. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/brainwash
Also Mentioned In
Words near brainwash in the dictionary
- brainwash
- brainwashed
- brainwashee
- brainwashees