Link Centre Dictionary

brainwash

brain·wash

UK/ˈbɹeɪnwɒʃ/ US/ˈbreɪˌnwɑʃ/ uncommon dated

verb

1.

persuade completely, often through coercion

  • “The propaganda brainwashed many people”
2.

Origin

From brain + wash, a calque of Chinese 洗腦 /洗脑 (xǐnǎo), literally to wash the brain. Usage via U.S. military during the Korean War.

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Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.