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 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 What, are you being brainwashed by communists? — Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for brainwashed

Verb

The scammers allegedly convinced the victim to give them access to his Google Drive and provide security codes that allowed Lam and others to siphon off more than 4,100 Bitcoin, then worth over $240 million.

— Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
Russia denied involvement, saying Germany had planted evidence, but NATO is convinced this is the latest incident in the Kremlin’s long-running hybrid warfare campaign of sabotage and cyberattacks.

— Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of convinced

Verb

Instead of recognizing that a 1-paragraph block is not a 10-paragraph block, the generation engine assumed that formatting the technical specifications neatly satisfied the underlying intent.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026
The court sent unresolved questions about whether the warrant in that case satisfied constitutional requirements back to a lower court.

— Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of satisfied

Verb

Young reporters like Steinem were allowed to write stories only about women's topics, such as recipes and clothes; writing about issues that actually influenced women's lives was discouraged.

— Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
Ruth Steinem had mental health problems, something Steinem has said deeply influenced her.

— Elizabeth Chuck, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of influenced

Verb

That outlay has brought Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro to Stamford Bridge, while their latest arrival from the south-coast side, centre-forward Danny Welbeck, was secured for a much more modest £5m this summer.

— Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Pritzker believes the city and state have learned to respond to the tactics that Bovino and his men brought, and those that continue.

— Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of brought

Verb

But what really interested us with this movie was trying to understand the humanity and searching for and exploring the love and the loyalty to characters to have a dialogue with an audience and not do it for the sake of ego or shock.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2026
Camerlenghi says Gradara Castle has interested him since his childhood.

— Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 12 July 2026

Definition of interested

Verb

Grueling weeks of testimony In a trial that stretched over five weeks, included more than 80 witnesses and attracted international attention to the issue of postpartum mental health, jurors heard competing theories about Clancy's mental condition.

— Carmel Wroth, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026
The case has attracted attention because Wisconsin courts have not fully resolved whether the public may walk along Great Lakes beaches below the ordinary high-water mark.

— Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 3 Sep. 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 10 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of brainwashed

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

loath

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Popular

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

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes