Brainwasher

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who forces others to abandon their own beliefs and adopt new ones through relentless pressure ; a thing or method that accomplishes the same forced change of mind
2. Someone who systematically reshapes another person's convictions by coercion or repetition ; an agent, process, or influence that produces such a forced transformation of thought
3. An individual who drills new ideas into others until their original views are erased ; a force, technique, or message that achieves this kind of mental conditioning

Etymology: Brainwasher is a simple formation: the verb "brainwash" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, so it names a person or thing that brainwashes. The verb "brainwash" is itself a loan translation of Chinese "xǐnǎo" (洗脑), literally "wash brain," but the source here does not give a date for either word, so nothing more can be said about when it first appeared. The suffix "-er" has a long history. It descends from Proto-Germanic "-ārijaz," which passed into Old English as "-ere," and it also entered English through Old French "-ier" from Latin "-ārius," a suffix used for people who carry on a trade or occupation. That is why English can form new agent nouns so freely from almost any verb, from "baker" to "brainwasher."

Synonyms: indoctrinator