Brainwashing

noun, verb

noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A form of indoctrination that forces people to abandon their beliefs in favour of another set of beliefs by conditioning through various forms of pressure or torture. countable, uncountable

    "So it came about, through Pavlov's work, that the Soviets developed and perfected the 'brain-washing' technique seen to be so effective in the state trials of the 1930s. An amazed world witnessed the sight of intelligent and renowned figures genuinely confessing to criminal acts against the state, or voicing ideological dogma in a total reversal of their previously held values."

  2. 2
    forcible indoctrination into a new set of attitudes and beliefs wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of brainwash form-of, gerund, participle, present

Synonyms

All synonyms
academic indoctrinationalienationcoercivecoercive persuasioncollective brainwashingcondition

Example

More examples

"Some people think that advertising is a form of brainwashing."

Etymology

Calque of Chinese 洗腦 /洗脑 (xǐnǎo, literally “wash brain”). First use appears c. 1950.

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