brainwashing

Noun

brainwashing (countable and uncountable, plural brainwashings)

1. A form of indoctrination that forces people to abandon their beliefs in favour of another set of beliefs by conditioning through various forms of pressure or torture.
   • So it came about, through Pavlov's work, that the Soviets developed and perfected the 'brain-washing' technique seen to be so effective in the state trials of the 1930s. An amazed world witnessed the sight of intelligent and renowned figures genuinely confessing to criminal acts against the state...1994, David Lawrence Pedersen, Cameral Analysis: A Method of Treating the Psychoneurosis Using Hypnosis, page 96
   • All new prisoners were assigned to "study groups" or "introductory teams" that were responsible for applying a variety of brain-washing techniques designed to break down all old beliefs and attitudes and replace them with Communist-Socialist thoughts.2000, Boyé De Mente, The Chinese Have a Word for It: The Complete Guide to Chinese Thought and Culture, McGraw-Hill, →ISBN, page 421

   Synonyms:

   coercive persuasion, mind control, menticide, programming, reeducation, thought control, thought reform