as in to undermine
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
fear of saying anything controversial has so lobotomized this book on geopolitics that it fails to say anything at all
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Recent Examples of lobotomize
All’s Fair is a 2010s Shonda Rhimes procedural on steroid shots and Goop supplements, if everyone in the writers’ room had been freshly lobotomized.
—
Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
Neuro procedures are always the scariest, because the surgeons are basically poking around in a little black box and staring at brain waves and hoping their patients don’t wake up partially lobotomized.
—Laura Bradley, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025
According to the film’s psychiatric adviser, Professor James Gilligan, however, who spoke to The Guardian in 2010, Andrew was aware of his actions when he was ordered to be lobotomized.
—Nicole Briese, People.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Quinn also needed to lobotomize the football culture and get players to buy into his team-over-me standard.
—Ben Standig, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
And to do so without fear of being incarcerated, lobotomized, rejected by our families or fired.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 29 June 2024
Violet has had Catherine committed, and is advocating for her to be lobotomized by young surgeon John Cukrowicz (gay Hollywood legend Montgomery Clift) in a veiled attempt to keep their past with Sebastian a secret.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 17 June 2024
It’s just absolutely been lobotomized into something that sounds like Wikipedia, essentially.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Aug. 2023
For someone who witnessed the Obama-era phenomenon of Low End Theory, the place seemed lobotomized.
—Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2023
Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
Neuro procedures are always the scariest, because the surgeons are basically poking around in a little black box and staring at brain waves and hoping their patients don’t wake up partially lobotomized.
—Laura Bradley, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025
According to the film’s psychiatric adviser, Professor James Gilligan, however, who spoke to The Guardian in 2010, Andrew was aware of his actions when he was ordered to be lobotomized.
—Nicole Briese, People.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Quinn also needed to lobotomize the football culture and get players to buy into his team-over-me standard.
—Ben Standig, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
And to do so without fear of being incarcerated, lobotomized, rejected by our families or fired.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 29 June 2024
Violet has had Catherine committed, and is advocating for her to be lobotomized by young surgeon John Cukrowicz (gay Hollywood legend Montgomery Clift) in a veiled attempt to keep their past with Sebastian a secret.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 17 June 2024
It’s just absolutely been lobotomized into something that sounds like Wikipedia, essentially.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Aug. 2023
For someone who witnessed the Obama-era phenomenon of Low End Theory, the place seemed lobotomized.
—Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lobotomize
Verb
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Allred and Johnson have sparred over ethics and policy, with Allred targeting her stock trades and voting record, and Johnson defending her financial disclosures and accusing him of undermining her leadership.—
Gromer Jeffers Jr,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Feb. 2026
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However, traditional hydrogen production often relies on fossil fuels, undermining its environmental benefits.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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After his conviction, Turing was chemically castrated.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
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By way of example, Morris points to a scene in Wiseman's 1993 documentary Zoo, in which an all-women surgical team at Miami zoo castrates a wolf.—
Chloe Veltman,
NPR,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While speculation has focused on the possibility of two Republicans advancing, the more likely scenario is that only one GOP candidate reaches November — and does so weakened.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
24 Feb. 2026
-
The effect occurs because friction between grains drops sharply under fast loads, weakening the internal force networks that normally support the material.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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However, because it is adapted to arid environments and well-draining soils, avoid Russian sage in wet areas.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Cactus and Succulent Mix Unlike moisture-loving tropical plants, cacti and succulents have evolved to thrive in very dry conditions—meaning that the ideal soil mix for these plants will drain very quickly without holding excess moisture.—
Alexandra Jones,
The Spruce,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Then there’s Rick Devens, whose reputation coming off of his fourth-place finish in season 38’s Edge of Extinction is less of a coldly calculating snake than a perpetual-motion machine whose strategizing and idol-hunting has the 50 returnees already exhausted at the thought of playing with him.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Seven starters left via the portal, and another 13 exhausted their eligibility.—
Manny Navarro,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lobotomize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lobotomize. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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