Brainwash

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈbɹeɪnwɒʃ/

Definitions

1. To systematically alter an individual's mindset through coercive methods and psychological pressures aimed at reshaping beliefs and perceptions
2. The practice of modifying someone’s thoughts and convictions using intense psychological tactics to instill a new ideology
3. To forcibly change someone's beliefs or attitudes by applying intense psychological pressure

Etymology: The verb "brainwash" is a compound of "brain" and "wash," but its making is a story of translation. It was not coined in English from scratch: it is a calque, a word-for-word copy, of the Chinese phrase 洗腦 (xǐnǎo), which means literally "to wash the brain." The Chinese expression reached English in the Korean War era, when the idea of forcibly reshaping a prisoner's convictions became a subject of intense attention in the United States. The word was taken up through the U.S. military, which was grappling with reports of American prisoners who had made statements favourable to their captors. The English compound simply reproduces the Chinese metaphor part by part, so the picture of cleansing or scrubbing the mind carries over directly, with "wash" meaning to cleanse by scrubbing and "brain" standing in for the seat of thought and belief.

Synonyms: indoctrinate, convert, influence

Antonyms: enlighten, free, liberate