brainwashbrain‧wash /ˈbreɪnwɒʃ $ -wɒːʃ, -wɑːʃ/ verb [transitive] 
Young people are being brainwashed by this religious group.brainwash somebody into doing something Commercials brainwash consumers into buying things they don’t need.—brainwashing noun [uncountable]
VERB TABLE
brainwash
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | brainwash |
| he, she, it | brainwashes | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | brainwashed |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have brainwashed |
| he, she, it | has brainwashed | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had brainwashed |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will brainwash |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have brainwashed |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am brainwashing |
| he, she, it | is brainwashing | |
| you, we, they | are brainwashing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was brainwashing |
| you, we, they | were brainwashing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been brainwashing |
| he, she, it | has been brainwashing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been brainwashing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be brainwashing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been brainwashing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- For years we've been brainwashed by advertising into buying more and more things that we don't need.
- Kids are being brainwashed by the people who make these toy commercials.
- Mrs Davis accused the cult of having brainwashed her daughter.
- About the only way to be a harem-guarding potentate nowadays is to start a cult and brainwash potential concubines about your holiness.
- Education is indoctrination, or, as described today, the brainwash.
- I hope my younger self doesn't see me as having been brainwashed!
- In the last few years, attitudes have changed and society now expects smokers to wipe out 70 years of brainwashing overnight.
- It was a triumph to pedagogic brainwashing.
- People are brainwashed into believing family life is the best.
- There was a lot of brainwashing involved.
- We were brainwashed into seeing qualities like gentleness and sensitivity as negative and weak.
Longman Language Activatorto teach people how they should think or behave
to teach someone, especially a child or young person, how to behave or what to believe: teach somebody to do something: · When I was young, children were taught to treat older people with respect.teach somebody (that): · Joe's mother taught him that he could do anything, if only he tried hard enough.teach somebody something: · Parents need to teach their children the difference between right and wrong.
to teach people, especially over a long period of time, about things that will be helpful to them in life: · We need to educate people so that they understand the importance of a good, healthy diet.educate somebody about something: · Youngsters must be educated about the dangers of drugs.educate somebody to do something: · What we're trying to do is to educate young people to be responsible citizens.
to teach your child or children how to behave or think as they grow up: bring somebody up to do something: · I was brought up to spend money carefully and save as much as I could.· Stan had been brought up to believe that a man should work to support his wife.bring somebody up in the belief/conviction/knowledge that: · Alison was brought up in the belief that she was in some way superior to other children.
British /instill American formal to teach someone a way of thinking or behaving, especially relating to morals, good manners, over a long period of time: · We aim to teach the children discipline and instil a sense of duty.instil something in/into somebody: · We have tried to instil good manners in our children from an early age.· She instilled tremendous enthusiasm into all her students.
to teach someone to believe something by continuously repeating it over a long period of time, especially when they are tired, weak, or confused, so that they accept it without questioning it: · Mrs Davis accused the cult of having brainwashed her daughter.brainwash somebody into doing something: · For years we've been brainwashed by advertising into buying more and more things that we don't need.
to make someone think or react in a particular way by influencing their attitudes or reactions over a long period of time: condition somebody to do something: · He was conditioned to obey his father at all times.condition somebody into doing something: · The people have been conditioned into thinking that anyone from outside their community represents a threat to them.
to teach someone to accept a particular set of religious or political beliefs, without allowing them to discuss it, doubt it, or consider other possible beliefs: · Some politically active teachers were accused of trying to indoctrinate their students.indoctrinate somebody into doing something: · Citizens were indoctrinated into believing that their leader was the source of all wisdom and goodness.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Commercials brainwash consumers into buying things they don’t need.
to make someone believe something that is not true, by using force, confusing them, or continuously repeating it over a long period of time: Commercials brainwash consumers into buying things they don’t need. Young people are being brainwashed by this religious group.brainwash somebody into doing something Commercials brainwash consumers into buying things they don’t need.—brainwashing noun [uncountable]