as in to undermine
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
fear of saying anything controversial has so lobotomized this book on geopolitics that it fails to say anything at all
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Recent Examples of lobotomize
And to do so without fear of being incarcerated, lobotomized, rejected by our families or fired.
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Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 29 June 2024
Violet has had Catherine committed, and is advocating for her to be lobotomized by young surgeon John Cukrowicz (gay Hollywood legend Montgomery Clift) in a veiled attempt to keep their past with Sebastian a secret.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 17 June 2024
It’s just absolutely been lobotomized into something that sounds like Wikipedia, essentially.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Aug. 2023
For someone who witnessed the Obama-era phenomenon of Low End Theory, the place seemed lobotomized.
—Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2023
To lobotomize their ability to access and express the full range of human experience back to consenting adults seems not just puritanical, but a fool’s errand.
—Tabi Jensen, WIRED, 9 Mar. 2023
This attracted all kinds of attention to it, so of course MS lobotomized her.
—Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 17 Feb. 2023
What the choice actually did was magically lobotomize them, sending them wandering the streets.
—Steven Strom, Ars Technica, 6 June 2018
In other words, lobotomize the civil rights and antiwar protesters.
—Rob Verger, Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2014
Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 29 June 2024
Violet has had Catherine committed, and is advocating for her to be lobotomized by young surgeon John Cukrowicz (gay Hollywood legend Montgomery Clift) in a veiled attempt to keep their past with Sebastian a secret.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 17 June 2024
It’s just absolutely been lobotomized into something that sounds like Wikipedia, essentially.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Aug. 2023
For someone who witnessed the Obama-era phenomenon of Low End Theory, the place seemed lobotomized.
—Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2023
To lobotomize their ability to access and express the full range of human experience back to consenting adults seems not just puritanical, but a fool’s errand.
—Tabi Jensen, WIRED, 9 Mar. 2023
This attracted all kinds of attention to it, so of course MS lobotomized her.
—Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 17 Feb. 2023
What the choice actually did was magically lobotomize them, sending them wandering the streets.
—Steven Strom, Ars Technica, 6 June 2018
In other words, lobotomize the civil rights and antiwar protesters.
—Rob Verger, Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2014
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lobotomize
Verb
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This is all designed to undermine future competitions.Renee Dudley, ProPublica, 15 Nov. 2024
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In recent months, U.S., British, German and other European officials have accused Russia of organizing an increasingly aggressive sabotage campaign aimed at undermining and disrupting Western assistance to Ukraine.Tom Costello, NBC News, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
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In 1952, Turing was prosecuted for homosexual acts, a criminal offense at the time, and chose to be chemically castrated instead of serving prison time.Carlie Porterfield, CNN, 24 Oct. 2024
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According to the memorandum and witness testimony, Clark attempted to castrate herself in her cell.Kaitlyn Pohly, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2024
Verb
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Such a test would be a sign of China’s weakening influence over Pyongyang and could spur Seoul to try to acquire nuclear weapons of its own—a position that both South Korea and the United States officially oppose but is gaining traction in Western policy circles.Sungmin Cho, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2024
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With its climate leadership perceived to be weakening, New Zealand may get a cooler reception at COP than in previous years, especially from Pacific Island nations, Cooper said.Mahalia Dobson, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2024
Verb
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This approach is exhausting and drains the limited willpower we are meant to conserve.Shane Enete, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024
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During testing, the charger’s battery was drained to half after just an hour of being plugged into a smartphone, and the phone itself was only powered to around 60 percent battery.Camryn Rabideau, People.com, 19 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The divisive race has left Americans exhausted and on edge, Sonoma State Political Science Professor David McCuan said.Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
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Javonte Williams, Running Back Williams, 24, came to Denver with high expectations after the team exhausted a second-round pick on the North Carolina product back in 2021.Vincent Frank, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near lobotomize
Cite this Entry
“Lobotomize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lobotomize. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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