1. performing a surgical procedure in which nerve fibers in the brain are severed, historically used to treat severe mental illness
Usage: medical/historical; British spelling (American: lobotomizing)
2. reducing someone's mental capacity or critical thinking ability; making someone less intelligent or aware
Usage: figurative; informal

Examples

• The hospital was lobotomising patients in the 1950s as a treatment for severe depression.
• Critics argue that excessive television is lobotomising the younger generation.
• The repetitive work felt like it was lobotomising her mind.
• Doctors eventually stopped lobotomising patients once safer treatments became available.
• Some believe that standardized testing is lobotomising creative thinking in schools.