Brainkush
A sudden epiphany involving a realization about everyday life that seems life altering but is then forgotten by the short term memory loss caused by Marijuana use.
Words you can keep
Brainwash
To get a person or group to believe things without the use of their critical and independent thinking skills.
The Heaven's Gate cult was brainwashed into believing they could transform into extraterrestrial beings.
Brainwash by Nekaterasemandoogehtlla June 12, 2021
Related Words
Brainkush • Brain Mushroomed • Brain rush • brainwash • brainwashed • Brainus • brainshit • Brainwashing • brainbuster • Brainfish
Brainwash
Brainwash – To persuade and train someone into adopting certain beliefs that are usually irrational, questionable, and doubtful. These beliefs are often outside the norm and goes against commonsense.
A cult leader had successfully brainwashed his followers into believing that killing innocent lives outside their belief is a noble and heroic act.
Brainwash by NobleGentleman April 19, 2019
brainwashed
(adj.; n. brainwashing)
Coerced or manipulated by any number of social, intellectual, and psycho-emotional methods, to do or accept things you wouldn't have otherwise. It is often an extension of common, everyday persuasion, but goes beyond it to control the way a person thinks and responds in general to limit critical thinking itself, not simply selling a single idea or decision based on presenting information and choice.
The goal of brainwashing is the internalization of the (unrealized or unrecognized) abusive control to where you believe and feel it necessary to enforce someone else's will as your own, unaware of your lack of free will, and usually with an illusion of stronger free will.
It goes beyond Stockholm Syndrome by having fear or doubt with regards to criticism about the authority (person, group and/or system of belief). Rationalizations are given to you to explain away anything contradictory.
The common use of the term implies a blind spot where you cannot see an opposing point of view because of some control or conditioning. Contradictory facts cannot be processed (mental scotomization), or are warped to fit into a form that no longer contradicts (cognitive dissonance).
Unlike simple indoctrination into many religions or philosophies, brainwashing goes beyond education to include reasons and/or phobias why questioning or turning away from it is wrong and people who do not agree are deceived, evil, or just wrong. Some religious and other groups cross the line; many do not.
People can brainwash themselves by being closed-minded, but can be brainwashed intentionally or unintentionally in any abusive relationship, such as a totally dominating partner, parent, or even a company or organization.
This is the primary common use of the word to describe the control process of a cult. However, brainwashing takes diverse forms in terms of tools and degrees of different kinds of control, so saying a group doesn't do brainwashing because of dissimilarities with another group (dressing all the same, or chanting for hours, for example) is invalid -- and a typical defense by people in a cult.
In fact, brainwashing can mean closing the mind when it comes to specific things and not others. Some cults disguise their control by encouraging you to believe anything you want, including staying in your current religion, so long as it does not interfere and you do not question and commit to the group's agenda.
The problem is that the word can be meant or taken as an insult instead of a particular psychological phenomenon. It may be an excuse to explain why someone cannot see your own point of view. Therefore, people who are brainwashed are likely to accuse others and even the whole surrounding society of being brainwashed.
Brainwashing is also a term that cults use to attack religions in general (many of which may have cult characteristics in varying degrees as a natural development tendency of any social group), or religions that are different in basic dogma from their own. Some anti-cult organizations have a cultic mentality themselves and therefore have made it difficult for other groups to advocate and educate about the real psychopathology of brainwashing. In other words, people fall back on the archaic denotation of the word "cult" as "religious sect" and associate brainwashing in terms of belief and not manipulation and control, or blur the distinction between brainwashing and educative indoctrination.
In the end things get really sticky, as modern cults have perfected various techniques and tactics, the most ironic of which is to play the role of an organization promoting free will and fighting against what they conveniently define as brainwashing to not include their own mind control. A common variation of this tactic is declaring the term brainwashing meaningless or even an offensive form of bigotry against religious freedom -- the ultimate and "politically correct" way to silence critics by putting themselves in the role of victim instead of the society they are themselves victimizing.
Coerced or manipulated by any number of social, intellectual, and psycho-emotional methods, to do or accept things you wouldn't have otherwise. It is often an extension of common, everyday persuasion, but goes beyond it to control the way a person thinks and responds in general to limit critical thinking itself, not simply selling a single idea or decision based on presenting information and choice.
The goal of brainwashing is the internalization of the (unrealized or unrecognized) abusive control to where you believe and feel it necessary to enforce someone else's will as your own, unaware of your lack of free will, and usually with an illusion of stronger free will.
It goes beyond Stockholm Syndrome by having fear or doubt with regards to criticism about the authority (person, group and/or system of belief). Rationalizations are given to you to explain away anything contradictory.
The common use of the term implies a blind spot where you cannot see an opposing point of view because of some control or conditioning. Contradictory facts cannot be processed (mental scotomization), or are warped to fit into a form that no longer contradicts (cognitive dissonance).
Unlike simple indoctrination into many religions or philosophies, brainwashing goes beyond education to include reasons and/or phobias why questioning or turning away from it is wrong and people who do not agree are deceived, evil, or just wrong. Some religious and other groups cross the line; many do not.
People can brainwash themselves by being closed-minded, but can be brainwashed intentionally or unintentionally in any abusive relationship, such as a totally dominating partner, parent, or even a company or organization.
This is the primary common use of the word to describe the control process of a cult. However, brainwashing takes diverse forms in terms of tools and degrees of different kinds of control, so saying a group doesn't do brainwashing because of dissimilarities with another group (dressing all the same, or chanting for hours, for example) is invalid -- and a typical defense by people in a cult.
In fact, brainwashing can mean closing the mind when it comes to specific things and not others. Some cults disguise their control by encouraging you to believe anything you want, including staying in your current religion, so long as it does not interfere and you do not question and commit to the group's agenda.
The problem is that the word can be meant or taken as an insult instead of a particular psychological phenomenon. It may be an excuse to explain why someone cannot see your own point of view. Therefore, people who are brainwashed are likely to accuse others and even the whole surrounding society of being brainwashed.
Brainwashing is also a term that cults use to attack religions in general (many of which may have cult characteristics in varying degrees as a natural development tendency of any social group), or religions that are different in basic dogma from their own. Some anti-cult organizations have a cultic mentality themselves and therefore have made it difficult for other groups to advocate and educate about the real psychopathology of brainwashing. In other words, people fall back on the archaic denotation of the word "cult" as "religious sect" and associate brainwashing in terms of belief and not manipulation and control, or blur the distinction between brainwashing and educative indoctrination.
In the end things get really sticky, as modern cults have perfected various techniques and tactics, the most ironic of which is to play the role of an organization promoting free will and fighting against what they conveniently define as brainwashing to not include their own mind control. A common variation of this tactic is declaring the term brainwashing meaningless or even an offensive form of bigotry against religious freedom -- the ultimate and "politically correct" way to silence critics by putting themselves in the role of victim instead of the society they are themselves victimizing.
How can you defend him after the way he controls your life? You must be brainwashed.
You must be pretty brainwashed to take out a second mortgage to attend those "self-help" courses.
You only talk about the group you belong to and stopped doing the things you love and spending time with your friends. I know you seem very happy, but we're concerned that you might be brainwashed. Me miss the you that we know.
If you knew you were brainwashed, you wouldn't have been brainwashed very well, right? Trust those who care about you that something is wrong.
I'm not brainwashed! You just don't know the group like I do! They are the most loving, sane, spiritual people I will ever meet and all they want is to save the world! We know things that humanity will only some day understand like we do.
You're the ones who are brainwashed, so I'm not allowed to talk to you anymore because you are interfering with my life progress! ... I mean it's MY choice and it's for my own good since you wont support me in this. Besides, I have to get ready for a mandatory cool aid party next week when the comet comes by. Have any clean pruning shears and a band-aid?
You must be pretty brainwashed to take out a second mortgage to attend those "self-help" courses.
You only talk about the group you belong to and stopped doing the things you love and spending time with your friends. I know you seem very happy, but we're concerned that you might be brainwashed. Me miss the you that we know.
If you knew you were brainwashed, you wouldn't have been brainwashed very well, right? Trust those who care about you that something is wrong.
I'm not brainwashed! You just don't know the group like I do! They are the most loving, sane, spiritual people I will ever meet and all they want is to save the world! We know things that humanity will only some day understand like we do.
You're the ones who are brainwashed, so I'm not allowed to talk to you anymore because you are interfering with my life progress! ... I mean it's MY choice and it's for my own good since you wont support me in this. Besides, I have to get ready for a mandatory cool aid party next week when the comet comes by. Have any clean pruning shears and a band-aid?
brainwashed by Ken JP Stuczynski January 16, 2008
braincrush
When you have a crush on a person's brain, with complete disregard to appearance, availability, etc.
Laura has a braincrush on Thomas Jefferson.
braincrush by awesomeaardvark October 21, 2009
brainwash
Casey has been brainwashing Sheri, Greg, John, Becky, Billy, and Michael into thinking I'm a bear when I'm not.
brainwash by Karen Stickney May 10, 2006
More from Urban Dictionary
TLDU
Sister: This meeting was to discuss the rough draft of my essay, where we discussed the subsidiary questions I added in my rough draft. We also discussed the relationship between my main title and the real-life situations I chose to use in my essay. We discussed the structure of my essay as well, specifically the Math AOK section and how it relates to the contradiction of the title. This second meeting was particularly helpful in discussing the implications of my essay claims and how to apply the title across various areas of knowledge. There were many sections of the essay that could have been cut down in wordiness and the ways of knowing required further and more in-depth analysis.
Me: Woah! TLDU!
Me: Woah! TLDU!
Salad Days
green inexperienced youthful judgement and cold blooded execution of those judgements.
Rashness with little concern of consequence.
Antony and Cleopatra. William Shakespeare
"My salad days,
When I was green in judgment, cold in blood."
- William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, 1.5
Rashness with little concern of consequence.
Antony and Cleopatra. William Shakespeare
"My salad days,
When I was green in judgment, cold in blood."
- William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, 1.5
Salad Days by GilbyRFC0 October 7, 2011
Word of the Day on August 28, 2026
age gate
An absolutely foolproof way to keep minors from viewing content deemed "too mature" for them to watch.
board chow
A)
The Crud that collects under the keys in a keyboard. Usually more severe in the keyboards of programmers and webmasters as they tend to spend a lot of time at the the computer and thus eat at their desk. Mainly affecting IBM Model M (clicly) style boards.
B)
Can also be used to gross out Non-Techie people
The Crud that collects under the keys in a keyboard. Usually more severe in the keyboards of programmers and webmasters as they tend to spend a lot of time at the the computer and thus eat at their desk. Mainly affecting IBM Model M (clicly) style boards.
B)
Can also be used to gross out Non-Techie people
A)
Bill: want to go to the club?
Bob: No, I've got to clean out my board chow, keys are starting to stick.
B)
Bill: Want to go out to get a bite?
Bob: No, i am just going to have some of my board chow/
Bill: Whats' that?
Bob: The food scraps that collect in my keyboard; Want some?
Bill: *GAG* *HURL* *GAG*
Bill: want to go to the club?
Bob: No, I've got to clean out my board chow, keys are starting to stick.
B)
Bill: Want to go out to get a bite?
Bob: No, i am just going to have some of my board chow/
Bill: Whats' that?
Bob: The food scraps that collect in my keyboard; Want some?
Bill: *GAG* *HURL* *GAG*
board chow by BinaryHackerMan September 3, 2007
Word of the Day on August 26, 2026