as in convinced
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?
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Recent Examples of brainwashed
How could someone as young as Sisson already be brainwashed by big-money interests?
—
Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025
Justine and Archer eventually overpower and kill the pair, all while Alex is trying to hide from his parents, who are brainwashed into trying to kill him.
—William Earl, Variety, 9 Aug. 2025
Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025
Justine and Archer eventually overpower and kill the pair, all while Alex is trying to hide from his parents, who are brainwashed into trying to kill him.
—William Earl, Variety, 9 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brainwashed
Verb
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Pope Francis fervently willed the Acutis sainthood case forward — convinced that the church needed someone like him to attract young Catholics to the faith while addressing the promises and perils of the digital age.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Joan and her dad are both convinced the world is going to end when that volcano erupts, but only one of them is willing to put themselves on the line in order to stop it.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Packers satisfied a major need by adding an elite pass rusher.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Aug. 2025
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Arsenal have been in talks with Porto over Kiwior, Stuttgart over Vieira and Fulham over Nelson, but no offer has satisfied their demands.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The two are friends, which might have influenced the scheduling of this game.—
Jim Alexander,
Oc Register,
7 Sep. 2025
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He was further influenced after learning that the FBI often calls on priests, rabbis and other clergy members to counsel victims at mass-casualty events.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Mike Judge has brought the series back twice, first in 2011 and again in 2022.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
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As of Wednesday evening, 40% of the fire was brought under containment by a fire crew of 44.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The email included a link to an ad for energy-efficient home appliances sold by a subsidiary of Whirlpool in Brazil.—
Kyle Ingram,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Sep. 2025
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Powerball winners, results for 9/6/25 lottery drawing jackpot A ticket bought in Missouri and a ticket sold in Texas matched all six numbers to win Saturday night's Powerball jackpot.—
Chris Sims,
IndyStar,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Fugitive Chicago bank president Paul Stensland — who fled the city with more than $1 million — was tracked down in Tangier, Morocco, by the Tribune, which persuaded him to surrender and tell his story.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
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Preparation for this might involve ensuring that proprietary and legacy systems can be persuaded to play nicely with agents.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That kind of book never really interested me as a reader either.—
Fiction Non Fiction
August 21,
Literary Hub,
21 Aug. 2025
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As a scientist interested in consciousness, most of my previous research has focused on understanding how psychedelics act on the human brain.—
Christopher Timmermann,
Big Think,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The Mali international has attracted interest from Turkey, and their transfer window does not close until September 12, so there is still time.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Our Place Wonder Oven in Steam What initially attracted me to the air fryer was its compact size.—
Nicol Natale,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brainwashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brainwashed. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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