brainwashing

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noun brain·wash·ing \ ˈbrān-ˌwȯ-shiŋ , -ˌwä- \

Definition of brainwashing

1 :a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas

2 :persuasion by propaganda or salesmanship

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brainwash

transitive verb

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brainwash

noun

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brainwasher

noun

Recent Examples of brainwashing from the Web

So far in 2017, Stanfield has been a victim of white brainwashing in Jordan Peele’s acclaimed thriller Get Out, and played a soldier and a lover respectively in the Netflix films War Machine and The Incredible Jessica James.

— brian truitt, USA TODAY, "Why, yes, Lakeith Stanfield really is in everything you've watched lately," 21 Aug. 2017
In the beginning, Savilla and her daughters did not want to share what had happened inside Kaplan’s home, which prosecutors previously told PEOPLE was due to his brainwashing.

— harriet sokmensuer, PEOPLE.com, "Pa. Couple Sentenced for Letting 52-Year-Old Man Sexually Abuse Their Daughters," 19 July 2017
Therefore, their claims of liberal brainwashing are often anecdotal and largely exclusive of underrepresented students’ perspectives.

— shaun r. harper, Fortune, "How Higher Education Is Bad for America," 13 July 2017
While few people take seriously the notion of hypnosis-like brainwashing (outside Hollywood films like Zoolander), there are still plenty who see danger in certain kinds of control.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "The True Story of Brainwashing and How It Shaped America," 22 May 2017
The search resulted not in a miraculous new weapon but a program of simulated brainwashing designed as a prophylactic against enemy mistreatment.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "The True Story of Brainwashing and How It Shaped America," 22 May 2017
Those espousing such views present Islam as an inherently hostile ideology whose adherents are enemies of Christianity and Judaism and seek to conquer nonbelievers either by violence or through a sort of stealthy brainwashing.

— scott shane, matthew rosenberg and eric lipton, New York Times, "Trump Pushes Dark View of Islam to Center of U.S. Policy-Making," 1 Feb. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brainwashing.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of brainwashing

translation of Chinese (Beijing) xǐnǎo

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1950

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

brainwashing

play

noun brain·wash·ing \ ˈbrān-ˌwȯsh-iŋ, -ˌwäsh- \

medical Definition of brainwashing

:a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas

—

brainwash

transitive verb

—

brainwash

noun

—

brainwasher

noun

Learn More about brainwashing

Nglish: Translation of brainwashing for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of brainwashing for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about brainwashing

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brainwashing

Definition of brainwashing

brainwash

brainwash

brainwasher

Recent Examples of brainwashing from the Web

Origin and Etymology of brainwashing

Medical Dictionary

brainwashing

medical Definition of brainwashing

brainwash

brainwash

brainwasher

Learn More about brainwashing

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