Deprograming

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of eliminating previously established programming or conditioning from an individual or system
2. An action aimed at dismantling ingrained beliefs or behaviors that have been instilled in a person or entity
3. The act of reversing or undoing conditioned thoughts or behaviors imposed on a person or system

Etymology: "Deprogramming" is built from the prefix "de-", meaning "undo" or "reverse", and "program", the noun that gave English its sense of a planned sequence of instructions or actions. Put together, the verb means to undo a program, and in its modern use that program is a set of beliefs or habits someone has been taught or pressured into holding. The prefix comes from Latin "de", which carries the sense of removing or reversing, so "deprogram" follows a familiar pattern of English verbs like "decode" or "deflate". The base "program" came into English in its older spelling, "programme", from French and Latin roots meaning a public notice or written outline, which is why the word once suggested a written announcement rather than a computer routine.

Synonyms: unbrainwashing, re-education