brainwashing

noun

brain·​wash·​ing ˈbrān-ˌwȯ-shiŋ 

-ˌwä-

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

brainwash

ˈbrān-ˌwȯsh 

-ˌwäsh

transitive verb

brainwash noun

brainwasher noun

Examples of brainwashing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And for a moment, sometime in the 1970s and early 1980s, this sense of possibility wasn’t just cultural brainwashing. —Alissa Quart, Time, 30 Aug. 2025

Conspiracies and brainwashing In Argentina, there was the troubling disappearance of five-year-old Loan Peña in Corrientes province. —Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025

By mid-season, Dale is convinced that Hank’s new, thoroughly un-American love of soccer could only be the result of a Manchurian Candidate–style brainwashing. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 25 July 2025

If these universities are truly the factories of leftist brainwashing that conservatives claim, shouldn’t these men have emerged as progressive ideologues themselves? —James Unnever, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

translation of Chinese (Beijing) xǐnǎo

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for brainwashing

• handwashing
• whitewashing
• quashing
• sloshing
• squashing
• washing

Medical Definition

brainwashing

noun

brain·​wash·​ing ˈbrān-ˌwȯsh-iŋ, -ˌwäsh- 

: 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