lobotomy

/ləˈbɑtəmi/
noun
  1. A medical operation that cuts into the front part of the brain, once used to treat mental illness but now considered outdated and harmful.
    • Many people who received a lobotomy lost their ability to feel emotions or make decisions.
    • Lobotomy was once performed on thousands of patients with severe mental disorders.
    • The history of lobotomy is a cautionary tale about medical treatments that were not fully understood.
  2. A figurative term for a state of being dull, unthinking, or lacking emotion, as if one's mind has been removed.
    • After watching three hours of mindless TV, I felt like I'd had a lobotomy.
    • The repetitive factory job gave him a kind of mental lobotomy.
    • Some critics say that social media causes a cultural lobotomy, making people less thoughtful.
What does "lobotomy" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean