Synonyms of brainwash

brainwash

verb

as in to convince

to cause (someone) to think or believe something by using methods that make a person unable to think normally

Terrorists brainwashed the prisoners.

Does advertising brainwash children?

Related Words

• convince
• persuade
• induce
• bring
• attract
• entice
• influence
• sell
• satisfy
• seduce
• convert
• lure
• get
• inculcate
• win (over)
• talk (into)
• instill
• interest
• sway
• move
• gain
• argue
• overpersuade
• prevail (on or upon)
• cajole
• coax
• incline
• prompt
• exhort
• implant
• urge
• tempt
• bring around
• beguile
• wheedle
• entreat
• fast-talk
• blandish
• lead on
• enroot
• allure
• snow
• draw
• blarney

Dissimilar Words

• discourage
• deter
• dissuade
• unsell

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of brainwash

Jake was being, if not brainwashed, certainly influenced by a male figure with some misogyny here. — Selome Hailu, Variety, 3 Oct. 2026

Some of them are derelict minors who have been captured by the settler organizations, taken to outposts in the Palestinian territories, brainwashed, and taught to kill. — David Shulman, The New York Review of Books, 26 Aug. 2026

But the college plot soon recommences, and the Duffys eventually speak with a Harvard chaplain who, to some extent, is able to allay their anxieties about brainwashing. — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2026

How many people were brainwashed into showing up for a riot and then imprisoned for their actions over an idea that was never really theirs? — Will Cady, SPIN, 30 July 2026

Ferrell instead starred as the villainous mogul Jacobim Mugatu, who attempts to brainwash Derek into assassinating the prime minister of Malaysia. — Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026

But after discovering that Cady and Nevaeh had been using a drug on Zack to brainwash him, Anna opts to fight fire with fire by planting drugs in Cady’s house and placing an anonymous call to CrimeStoppers. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 10 July 2026

People who vote for MAGA Republicans are mentally challenged and brainwashed. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 22 June 2026

Society has brainwashed us for decades into bottling our emotions, saying less, not rocking the boat, and just carrying so much on our shoulders. — Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026