brainwashing
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brainwashing
Where it comes from
Calque of Chinese 洗腦 /洗脑 (xǐnǎo, literally “wash brain”). First use appears c. 1950.
noun brainwashings · brain-washing
-
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.
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, o
Similar: coercive persuasion, mind control, menticide, programming, reeducation, thought control, thought reform
verb brain-washing
- present participle and gerund of brainwash
Translations
Every language
noun form of indoctrination
| Español | lavado de cerebro, comedura de coco |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 세뇌 senoe |
| 日本語 | 洗脳 sennō |
| 中文 | 洗腦 /洗脑 xǐnǎo |
| हिन्दी | विचार-नियंत्रण vicār-niyantraṇ |
| Português | lavagem cerebral |
| Français | lavage de cerveau |
| Deutsch | Gehirnwäsche, Hirnwäsche, Mentizid |
| Italiano | lavaggio del cervello |
| Ελληνικά | πλύση εγκεφάλου plýsi egkefálou |
| Română | spălare a creierului |
| Русский | промыва́ние мозго́в promyvánije mozgóv |
| Tiếng Việt | tẩy não |
| العربية | غَسِيل دِمَاغ ḡasīl dimāḡ, غَسِيل مُخّ ḡasīl muḵḵ |
| עברית | שטיפת מוח \ שְׁטִיפַת מוֹחַ shtifát móakh |
Talk about this word "brainwashing." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/brainwashing. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. brainwashing. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/brainwashing "brainwashing." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/brainwashing.Cite this
@misc{brainwashing_2026,
title = {brainwashing},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/brainwashing},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
