mindfuck

verb

variants or mind-fuck

mindfucked or mind-fucked; mindfucking or mind-fucking; mindfucks or mind-fucks

transitive + intransitive

vulgar

: to manipulate someone into questioning their perceptions, beliefs, abilities, etc., especially by confusing and upsetting them

I make music for the young. … I want these girls to be tough, like mentally, especially with boys because when you're young in the game it's easy to be mindfucked.

—Asian Doll aka Misharron Jamesha Allen, quoted in Paper

In school, he had delighted in mind-fucking Carnes, pushing him to the brink of rage. … Pushing and easing up, over and over, until Carnes was punchy from surges of adrenaline.

—Lucius Shepard

mindfucked adjective

also mind-fucked

vulgar

The isolation, pecking order among the boys, and use of violence to settle disputes gives [Aleks] Merilo's script a Lord of the Flies quality, but at its heart, Exit 27 is a story of mind control, with Merilo shedding light on just how mindfucked these kids are and hoping we realize this fiction is not far from fact.

—Shanon Weaver

mindfucker noun

also mind-fucker

plural mindfuckers also mind-fuckers

vulgar

In common usage, the term "mindfucker" refers to someone who manipulates other people, who fucks them over emotionally or financially.

—Frances Lear

My wife was crazy. I was married to a crazy woman. … Nick, meet your wife: the world's foremost mindfucker.

—Gillian Flynn

mindfucking noun

also mind-fucking

vulgar

Mindfucking is, according to [philosopher Colin] McGinn, "an inherently aggressive act … an act of psychological violence, more or less." He writes, "The prime point here is that it involves the illegitimate exercise of power."

—Vic Sizemore

One book on how to use gaslighting techniques on one's enemies suggests a succinct synonym: "mind-fucking."

—Barbara Oakley

Word History

Etymology

mind entry 1 + fuck entry 1

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above