BRAINWASHED Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

brainwashed

verb

past tense of brainwash

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?

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of brainwashed 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 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 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 The siblings had been brainwashed, abused and groomed while growing up in a cult led by Bernie Hoffman, an apocalyptic preacher and false prophet known to the world as Tony Alamo. — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026 These young girls have been brainwashed by a political movement that exists to disenfranchise them. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 May 2026 Bistline further claimed that Bateman brainwashed her and initially convinced her to lie to authorities during her first interview with authorities in 2023. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for brainwashed

Verb

After decades of studying the ways humans wrestle with fear, Lembke is convinced that the act of surrender is as important as the search for order and certainty.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2026
Still, seeing their son struggle to speak, Stephanie and Eric were convinced there was a connection.

— Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of convinced

Verb

That fact may have satisfied the question of whether the two natural wingers could have a productive season side-by-side, but looking closely at the numbers tells a different story.

— Amna Subhan, AJC.com, 6 Nov. 2026
This fall’s cases show what happens when those systems misfire in the middle of an election, and why Meta’s explanations have satisfied few affected people.

— Molly A. Wallace, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of satisfied

Verb

Murdaugh is facing a retrial on the murder charges after the South Carolina Supreme Court threw out his convictions and life sentence, ruling that a court clerk improperly influenced jurors against him during his 2023 trial.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Nov. 2026
And then there was Next Step Up, which is more of the groovy thing that really influenced bands like Hatebreed.

— Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 12 Nov. 2026

Definition of influenced

Verb

In the litigation brought by the Iranian immigrant advocacy group, at least a dozen Iranian detainees have said they’ve been contacted by Iranian officials who had knowledge of sensitive information on their asylum claims.

— Safiyah Riddle, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2026
Rookie Camden Brown brought it out three times and didn’t have any mishaps.

— Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Nov. 2026

Definition of brought

Verb

Most concerning for Talarico as Hispanic turnout explodes throughout the state are accounts that Latino men aren’t sold on his candidacy.

— W. James Antle III, The Washington Examiner, 2 Nov. 2026
In February, it was revealed Spears sold the rights to her complete music catalog to Primary Wave for an undisclosed price.

— Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of sold

Verb

Sand has already persuaded enough Iowans to try on a different political label, which is a big get, in and of itself.

— Anna Rahmanan, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Nov. 2026
Shimamura persuaded a producer, Shūji Abe, to put up enough money for preproduction, and Yamazaki to begin scouting locations and even holding auditions in Australia.

— Matt Alt, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of persuaded

Verb

The resulting video, posted Sunday, quickly attracted millions of views.

— Steve Mollman, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2026
Roots attracted the ire of a ton of insecure right-wing bozos, and the fights over which Sherlock guys to ship overheated a lot of Tumblr servers.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Nov. 2026

Definition of attracted

Browse Nearby Words

brainwash

brainwashed

brainwashes

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Brainwashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brainwashed. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of brainwashed

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

lissome

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Popular in Wordplay

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes