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
As a teen, she was sent to Evelyn’s facility and brainwashed, too.
—
Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Maybe Maurice wasn’t too far off on his hunch that the teens were being brainwashed into spy material.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
But Emma’s frustrated by how brainwashed Sam is.
—Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
California high school senior Hadeel Hazameh believes she was brainwashed.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 17 Sep. 2025
They’re being brainwashed in school.
—Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Harry and William had a 72-hour argument via text in which William accused Harry of being brainwashed by therapy and Harry appealed unsuccessfully for William to join him for a session.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
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
Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Maybe Maurice wasn’t too far off on his hunch that the teens were being brainwashed into spy material.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
But Emma’s frustrated by how brainwashed Sam is.
—Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
California high school senior Hadeel Hazameh believes she was brainwashed.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 17 Sep. 2025
They’re being brainwashed in school.
—Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Harry and William had a 72-hour argument via text in which William accused Harry of being brainwashed by therapy and Harry appealed unsuccessfully for William to join him for a session.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brainwashed
Verb
-
Now convinced that Lo was right all along, Richard’s assistant runs to the lodge’s hunting shed to get a rifle.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
-
But Benioff isn’t convinced and will pay for hundreds of off-duty law enforcement officers when Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce conference starts Tuesday in downtown San Francisco, bringing 50,000 attendees to the city from over 140 countries.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The seaside site in Gloucester satisfied all these criteria.—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Stein provided one that satisfied her ambitions and perhaps mitigated a sense of mediocrity.—
Judith Thurman,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Old practices for the construction of hill houses influenced the design.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Ira's sister, Rosa, had moved to Hill County and influenced her brother's decision to go there.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And then the English joined in, claiming that Joseph of Arimathea brought the holy grail containing the blood and sweat of the crucified Christ to Glastonbury.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
-
New ownership has brought investment and a collegiate approach.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
With more than 600 million copies of the books sold worldwide, and everything related to them continuing to do well years after the initial release of the books, one wonders how this series remains popular despite the deluge of young adult novels (and controversy) that followed it.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
12 Oct. 2025
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Nearly nine years after sending that first cold email, the trio sold a majority stake of Lemon Pepper Holdings (Wingtop UK’s parent company) to Californian private equity firm Sixth Street just before the New Year.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But Putin will not be persuaded by bluster and self-congratulation alone.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
-
In Bohn's case, after he was contacted on Facebook, the perpetrator persuaded him to move the conversation to Telegram.—
Molly Beck,
jsonline.com,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Tommaso di Lampedusa’s novel, which looks at the unification of Italy from the perspective of a 20th-century writer, had a modernity that interested me.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Since his death more than two hundred years ago, Christophe’s tragic story has interested a broad array of playwrights, artists, novelists, and filmmakers across the world.—
Marlene L. Daut
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Wilfredo Cruz was attracted in part by the paycheck.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
-
Guille attracted interest this summer but wanted to stay.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brainwashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brainwashed. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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