Brainwash Someone Into Doing vs. Brainwash Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents brainwash + object + into + -ing for causing belief or action through repeated messaging while blocking other information. The verb is marked disapproving, and the cited source does not present brainwash + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent documented complement.
Use “brainwash someone into doing something” for the directly documented pattern; do not infer “brainwash someone to do” as an equally supported alternative.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| cause a person through brainwashing to perform an action | brainwash + person + into + -ing | use the documented action complement |
| proposed infinitive alternative | brainwash + person + to-infinitive | do not infer equivalence |
Quick tests
Complement test
Are you naming the action that resulted from the brainwashing?
If yes: Use “brainwash someone into doing something.”
If no: If you are describing the state only, a different construction may fit.
Caveat: This page concerns grammar and does not diagnose real-world coercion or mental state.
Examples
The group brainwashed him into giving up contact with friends.
“Into + -ing” expresses the resulting action.
She said she had been brainwashed into obeying every instruction.
The passive keeps the same complement.
They brainwashed him to obey every instruction.
Better: They brainwashed him into obeying every instruction.
Use the documented into + -ing construction for the action complement.
Further guidance
Boundary
The verb is marked disapproving, and the cited source does not present brainwash + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent documented complement.
Construction
Cambridge directly documents brainwash + object + into + -ing for causing belief or action through repeated messaging while blocking other information.
Decision
Use “brainwash someone into doing something” for the directly documented pattern; do not infer “brainwash someone to do” as an equally supported alternative.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- brainwash someone into something/doing something — Cambridge English Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Brainwash + object + into + -ing construction and disapproving sense