brainwashing

or brain-wash·ing, brain wash·ing

[ breyn-wosh-ing, -waw-shing ]
See synonyms for brainwashing on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a method for systematically changing attitudes or altering beliefs, originated in totalitarian countries, especially through the use of torture, drugs, or psychological-stress techniques.

  2. any method of controlled systematic indoctrination, especially one based on repetition or confusion: brainwashing by TV commercials.

  1. an instance of subjecting or being subjected to such techniques: efforts to halt the brainwashing of captive audiences.

Origin of brainwashing

1
First recorded in 1945–50; brain + washing

Words Nearby brainwashing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use brainwashing in a sentence

Cultural definitions for brainwashing

brainwashing

Indoctrination that forces people to abandon their beliefs in favor of another set of beliefs. Usually associated with military and political interrogation and religious conversion, brainwashing attempts, through prolonged stress, to break down an individual's physical and mental defenses. Brainwashing techniques range from vocal persuasion and threats to punishment, physical deprivation, mind-altering drugs, and severe physical torture.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.