"brainworm" meaning in English

See brainworm in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: brainworms [plural]
Etymology: From brain + worm. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|brain|worm}} brain + worm Head templates: {{en-noun}} brainworm (plural brainworms)
  1. A neurotropic nematode parasite (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis). Categories (lifeform): Nematodes
    Sense id: en-brainworm-en-noun-0d9gRTh9 Disambiguation of Nematodes: 17 29 35 6 12
  2. (science fiction) Any parasitic, worm-like species that inhabits the brain of another organism, typically altering its behaviour or giving it special abilities. Categories (topical): Science fiction Categories (lifeform): Nematodes
    Sense id: en-brainworm-en-noun-XHzUidsQ Disambiguation of Nematodes: 17 29 35 6 12 Topics: literature, media, publishing, science-fiction
  3. (figurative, informal) A song or melody that keeps playing inside of one's mind. Tags: figuratively, informal Categories (lifeform): Nematodes Synonyms: earworm
    Sense id: en-brainworm-en-noun-Hr7HKEDL Disambiguation of Nematodes: 17 29 35 6 12 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 16 22 42 6 14 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 17 20 44 5 14 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 17 21 46 3 14
  4. (figurative, slang, sometimes derogatory) A persistent delusion or obsession; a deeply-ingrained or unquestioned idea. Tags: derogatory, figuratively, slang, sometimes
    Sense id: en-brainworm-en-noun-gpu6uG-y
  5. (4chan /lgbt/ slang) An intrusive, unwanted, internalized transphobic or invalidating thought or belief. Categories (lifeform): Nematodes
    Sense id: en-brainworm-en-noun-hHavk5Mt Disambiguation of Nematodes: 17 29 35 6 12
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: brain worm, brain-worm Derived forms: brain-wormed

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "brain-wormed"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "brain",
        "3": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "brain + worm",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From brain + worm.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "brainworms",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "brainworm (plural brainworms)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "17 29 35 6 12",
          "kind": "lifeform",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Nematodes",
          "orig": "en:Nematodes",
          "parents": [
            "Worms",
            "Animals",
            "Lifeforms",
            "All topics",
            "Life",
            "Fundamental",
            "Nature"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1990, Maine Fish and Wildlife, volumes 32-33, page 10:",
          "text": "Only rarely do we find a brainworm-infected moose that has larvae in its feces.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A neurotropic nematode parasite (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis)."
      ],
      "id": "en-brainworm-en-noun-0d9gRTh9",
      "links": [
        [
          "neurotropic",
          "neurotropic"
        ],
        [
          "nematode",
          "nematode"
        ],
        [
          "parasite",
          "parasite"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Science fiction",
          "orig": "en:Science fiction",
          "parents": [
            "Fiction",
            "Speculative fiction",
            "Artistic works",
            "Genres",
            "Art",
            "Entertainment",
            "Culture",
            "Society",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 29 35 6 12",
          "kind": "lifeform",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Nematodes",
          "orig": "en:Nematodes",
          "parents": [
            "Worms",
            "Animals",
            "Lifeforms",
            "All topics",
            "Life",
            "Fundamental",
            "Nature"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2012, David Barr Kirtley, “The Ontological Factor”, in John Joseph Adams, editor, Other Worlds Than These, unnumbered page:",
          "text": "She caught my expression, and added quickly, “Oh, but not bad brain worms. Good brain worms. They know most of the languages that are spoken across the worlds, and pretty soon you will too.”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Mark Chadbourn, Jack of Ravens, unnumbered page:",
          "text": "\"Yes. And I'm going to get back to her. Nothing's going to stand in the way of that. Not two thousand years...not some overambitious species that think they're gods...not monsters or brain-worms or secret assassins.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021, Jason Fry, Star Wars The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia, page 111:",
          "text": "This allows brain worms to animate their dead bodies, creating shambling warriors that fight for their queens.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any parasitic, worm-like species that inhabits the brain of another organism, typically altering its behaviour or giving it special abilities."
      ],
      "id": "en-brainworm-en-noun-XHzUidsQ",
      "links": [
        [
          "science fiction",
          "science fiction"
        ],
        [
          "parasitic",
          "parasitic"
        ],
        [
          "worm",
          "worm"
        ],
        [
          "brain",
          "brain"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(science fiction) Any parasitic, worm-like species that inhabits the brain of another organism, typically altering its behaviour or giving it special abilities."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "literature",
        "media",
        "publishing",
        "science-fiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "16 22 42 6 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 20 44 5 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 21 46 3 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 29 35 6 12",
          "kind": "lifeform",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Nematodes",
          "orig": "en:Nematodes",
          "parents": [
            "Worms",
            "Animals",
            "Lifeforms",
            "All topics",
            "Life",
            "Fundamental",
            "Nature"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008 July 1, Mike Redmond, “Astley Brainworm”, in Current in Carmel, page 28:",
          "text": "Which points out the difference between this song and other brainworms.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 September 5, Bill & Rich Sones, “Can't get rid of that tune? Maybe it's a brainworm”, in Woolwich Observer, page 30:",
          "text": "Although brainworms are no doubt ancient, the term has come into common use only in the last few decades, probably because suddenly music is ubiquitous, […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016, Lawrence Kramer, “Caliban's Ear: A Short History of Ambient Music”, in Anahid Kassabian, Elena Boschi, Marta García Quiñones, editors, Ubiquitous Musics: The Everyday Sounds That We Don't Always Notice, page 15:",
          "text": "The hallucinations in question are exaggerated forms of 'brainworms' – music stuck in the head.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A song or melody that keeps playing inside of one's mind."
      ],
      "id": "en-brainworm-en-noun-Hr7HKEDL",
      "links": [
        [
          "song",
          "song"
        ],
        [
          "melody",
          "melody"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative, informal) A song or melody that keeps playing inside of one's mind."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "earworm"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "informal"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2016 October 20, driftglass [username], “Fundraiser Day Five: Joe Scarborough and Bill Kristol -- Cannibals Fighting Over The Place Settings”, in driftglass [personal website]:",
          "text": "Of all the toxic brainworms Ronald Reagan passed down to his acolytes and imitators, almost none has proven more ineradicable and ruinous than his pathologically dissociative behavior when confronted with any information that threatened to impede his world-view.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 February 22, Sean Burke, “Ditch liberalism: Let's give socialism a chance”, in The Student Life, Claremont College, page 7:",
          "text": "Venezuela's market-based economy looks nothing like the centrally-planned Maoist regime that Sean Hannity's brainworms tell him it is.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020, Jake Dean, \"mum + dad words\", Kiddo, December 2020 - February 2021, page 31",
          "text": "[…] but I've already found my mood has improved and the time I've spent having fun with my kid, reading, keeping fit, etc. has increased markedly as my screen time (and my brain worms) have dwindled."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021, Stephanie Shih, quoted in \"An Interview with Stephanie Shih\", Form (Duke University), Volume 25 (2021), page 117",
          "text": "I think institutional success would be nice because I have the capitalist brain worms that we all have."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A persistent delusion or obsession; a deeply-ingrained or unquestioned idea."
      ],
      "id": "en-brainworm-en-noun-gpu6uG-y",
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ],
        [
          "delusion",
          "delusion"
        ],
        [
          "obsession",
          "obsession"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative, slang, sometimes derogatory) A persistent delusion or obsession; a deeply-ingrained or unquestioned idea."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "figuratively",
        "slang",
        "sometimes"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "17 29 35 6 12",
          "kind": "lifeform",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Nematodes",
          "orig": "en:Nematodes",
          "parents": [
            "Worms",
            "Animals",
            "Lifeforms",
            "All topics",
            "Life",
            "Fundamental",
            "Nature"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An intrusive, unwanted, internalized transphobic or invalidating thought or belief."
      ],
      "id": "en-brainworm-en-noun-hHavk5Mt",
      "links": [
        [
          "intrusive",
          "intrusive"
        ],
        [
          "unwanted",
          "unwanted"
        ],
        [
          "internalized",
          "internalized"
        ],
        [
          "transphobic",
          "transphobic"
        ],
        [
          "thought",
          "thought"
        ],
        [
          "belief",
          "belief"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "4chan /lgbt/ slang",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(4chan /lgbt/ slang) An intrusive, unwanted, internalized transphobic or invalidating thought or belief."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "brain worm"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "brain-worm"
    }
  ],
  "word": "brainworm"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "en:Nematodes"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "brain-wormed"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "brain",
        "3": "worm"
      },
      "expansion": "brain + worm",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From brain + worm.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "brainworms",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "brainworm (plural brainworms)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1990, Maine Fish and Wildlife, volumes 32-33, page 10:",
          "text": "Only rarely do we find a brainworm-infected moose that has larvae in its feces.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A neurotropic nematode parasite (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "neurotropic",
          "neurotropic"
        ],
        [
          "nematode",
          "nematode"
        ],
        [
          "parasite",
          "parasite"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "en:Science fiction"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2012, David Barr Kirtley, “The Ontological Factor”, in John Joseph Adams, editor, Other Worlds Than These, unnumbered page:",
          "text": "She caught my expression, and added quickly, “Oh, but not bad brain worms. Good brain worms. They know most of the languages that are spoken across the worlds, and pretty soon you will too.”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Mark Chadbourn, Jack of Ravens, unnumbered page:",
          "text": "\"Yes. And I'm going to get back to her. Nothing's going to stand in the way of that. Not two thousand years...not some overambitious species that think they're gods...not monsters or brain-worms or secret assassins.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021, Jason Fry, Star Wars The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia, page 111:",
          "text": "This allows brain worms to animate their dead bodies, creating shambling warriors that fight for their queens.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any parasitic, worm-like species that inhabits the brain of another organism, typically altering its behaviour or giving it special abilities."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "science fiction",
          "science fiction"
        ],
        [
          "parasitic",
          "parasitic"
        ],
        [
          "worm",
          "worm"
        ],
        [
          "brain",
          "brain"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(science fiction) Any parasitic, worm-like species that inhabits the brain of another organism, typically altering its behaviour or giving it special abilities."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "literature",
        "media",
        "publishing",
        "science-fiction"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English informal terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008 July 1, Mike Redmond, “Astley Brainworm”, in Current in Carmel, page 28:",
          "text": "Which points out the difference between this song and other brainworms.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 September 5, Bill & Rich Sones, “Can't get rid of that tune? Maybe it's a brainworm”, in Woolwich Observer, page 30:",
          "text": "Although brainworms are no doubt ancient, the term has come into common use only in the last few decades, probably because suddenly music is ubiquitous, […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016, Lawrence Kramer, “Caliban's Ear: A Short History of Ambient Music”, in Anahid Kassabian, Elena Boschi, Marta García Quiñones, editors, Ubiquitous Musics: The Everyday Sounds That We Don't Always Notice, page 15:",
          "text": "The hallucinations in question are exaggerated forms of 'brainworms' – music stuck in the head.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A song or melody that keeps playing inside of one's mind."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "song",
          "song"
        ],
        [
          "melody",
          "melody"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative, informal) A song or melody that keeps playing inside of one's mind."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "earworm"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "informal"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English derogatory terms",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2016 October 20, driftglass [username], “Fundraiser Day Five: Joe Scarborough and Bill Kristol -- Cannibals Fighting Over The Place Settings”, in driftglass [personal website]:",
          "text": "Of all the toxic brainworms Ronald Reagan passed down to his acolytes and imitators, almost none has proven more ineradicable and ruinous than his pathologically dissociative behavior when confronted with any information that threatened to impede his world-view.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 February 22, Sean Burke, “Ditch liberalism: Let's give socialism a chance”, in The Student Life, Claremont College, page 7:",
          "text": "Venezuela's market-based economy looks nothing like the centrally-planned Maoist regime that Sean Hannity's brainworms tell him it is.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020, Jake Dean, \"mum + dad words\", Kiddo, December 2020 - February 2021, page 31",
          "text": "[…] but I've already found my mood has improved and the time I've spent having fun with my kid, reading, keeping fit, etc. has increased markedly as my screen time (and my brain worms) have dwindled."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021, Stephanie Shih, quoted in \"An Interview with Stephanie Shih\", Form (Duke University), Volume 25 (2021), page 117",
          "text": "I think institutional success would be nice because I have the capitalist brain worms that we all have."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A persistent delusion or obsession; a deeply-ingrained or unquestioned idea."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ],
        [
          "delusion",
          "delusion"
        ],
        [
          "obsession",
          "obsession"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative, slang, sometimes derogatory) A persistent delusion or obsession; a deeply-ingrained or unquestioned idea."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "figuratively",
        "slang",
        "sometimes"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English 4chan /lgbt/ slang"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An intrusive, unwanted, internalized transphobic or invalidating thought or belief."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "intrusive",
          "intrusive"
        ],
        [
          "unwanted",
          "unwanted"
        ],
        [
          "internalized",
          "internalized"
        ],
        [
          "transphobic",
          "transphobic"
        ],
        [
          "thought",
          "thought"
        ],
        [
          "belief",
          "belief"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "4chan /lgbt/ slang",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(4chan /lgbt/ slang) An intrusive, unwanted, internalized transphobic or invalidating thought or belief."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "brain worm"
    },
    {
      "word": "brain-worm"
    }
  ],
  "word": "brainworm"
}

Download raw JSONL data for brainworm meaning in English (6.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.