What does brainwash mean?
To brainwash someone means to impose a set of beliefs on them through sustained psychological pressure, repetition, isolation, or propaganda, so that they come to accept those ideas as their own and lose the ability to evaluate them critically. The word emerged in English around the time of the Korean War, translating the Mandarin term xǐ nǎo ('to wash the brain'), which described the ideological re-education of prisoners. Today it is used both literally — in discussions of cults, totalitarian regimes, and coercive control — and informally to describe any form of heavy-handed persuasion. Because it suggests manipulation that overrides free will, it is almost always derogatory: calling someone brainwashed dismisses their views as implanted rather than reasoned. Related forms include brainwashing (noun) and brainwashed (adjective).
To force a person to adopt particular beliefs or attitudes through systematic psychological pressure, isolation, or propaganda, undermining their independent judgement.
"Investigators found that the group had brainwashed its members into surrendering all their savings."
Frequently used in the passive voice; almost always carries negative connotations.
An act or process of brainwashing; the practice itself (usually encountered in the gerund form 'brainwashing').
"The trial revealed years of methodical brainwash carried out against the sect's followers."
The word entered English via Chinese 'xǐ nǎo' — literally 'to wash the brain' — during the Korean War, when Western observers described how captured soldiers were subjected to intense ideological re-education.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of brainwash
Brainwash derives from the Mandarin phrase xǐ nǎo (洗脑), literally meaning 'to wash the brain', which was used to describe the intensive ideological re-education programmes applied to prisoners during the Korean War era. English speakers adopted a direct calque of this expression in the early 1950s, first as the noun brainwashing before the verb followed shortly afterwards. Its components are native English words — brain and wash — joined in imitation of the Chinese construction, making it one of the more striking loan-translations in modern English vocabulary.
Related word forms
How brainwash is actually used
Brainwash carries strongly negative connotations — it implies coercion and loss of free will rather than legitimate persuasion. It appears in both literal contexts (cults, interrogation, political indoctrination) and hyperbolic informal use ('the adverts brainwashed me into buying it'). The verb is often used in passive constructions ('was brainwashed').
Easily confused with brainwash
Indoctrinate refers to teaching beliefs over time, often without the coercive, isolating intensity implied by brainwash.
Persuade involves reasoning and the target's voluntary agreement, whereas brainwash implies manipulation that bypasses rational choice.