doctrinaire

[ dok-truh-nair ]

/ ˈdɒk trəˈnɛər /

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See synonyms for: doctrinaire / doctrinaires on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who tries to apply some doctrine or theory without sufficient regard for practical considerations; an impractical theorist.

adjective

dogmatic about others' acceptance of one's ideas; fanatical: a doctrinaire preacher.

merely theoretical; impractical.

of, relating to, or characteristic of a doctrinaire.

OTHER WORDS FOR doctrinaire

2 authoritarian, uncompromising, inflexible, unyielding.

See synonyms for doctrinaire on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR doctrinaire

2 reasonable, flexible.

See antonyms for doctrinaire on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of doctrinaire

From French, dating back to 1810–20; see origin at doctrine, -aire

OTHER WORDS FROM doctrinaire

doc·tri·nair·ism, nounnon·doc·tri·naire, adjectiveo·ver·doc·tri·naire, adjectiveun·doc·tri·naire, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH doctrinaire

doctrinal, doctrinaire

Words nearby doctrinaire

Doctor of the Church, Doctorow, Doctor's Commons, doctor's degree, doctorspeak, doctrinaire, doctrinal, doctrine, doctrine of descent, docudrama, document

How to use doctrinaire in a sentence

Hernández insists Petro will turn Colombia into Venezuela, a country with an economy run into the ground by years of recklessly doctrinaire socialist policies imposed in the name of populist revolution.
Colombians Want Change. They'll Get It No Matter Who Wins the Presidential Election|Ian Bremmer|June 17, 2022|Time
Even though HBES members were in the avant garde of studying human behavior from an evolutionary perspective, most of them were doctrinaire in their rejection of group selection.
E.O. Wilson Saw the World in a Wholly New Way - Issue 112: Inspiration|David Sloan Wilson|January 5, 2022|Nautilus
But he also prides himself on not being doctrinaire in his beliefs.
Obama Says He’ll Reform the NSA. Happy Now?|Daniel Klaidman|August 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Bachmann is so doctrinaire she seems unlikely to be a serious contender in the general election.
Michele, You’re No Reagan|Jack W. Germond|July 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST

In this selective narrative, the only path to truth is doctrinaire conservatism.
Glenn Beck Declares War|John Avlon|February 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
This was a watershed between doctrinaire aggression and physical aggression.
Wole Soyinka's British Problem|Tunku Varadarajan|January 31, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Governance has even led him to moderate some of his more doctrinaire conservative views, he said.
The Plot to Purge GOP Moderates|Benjamin Sarlin|November 4, 2009|DAILY BEAST
To these, as a "forward" party, the doctrinaire theorists have allied themselves.
The New Society|Walther Rathenau
If his mind did not naturally work that way he would not be a Doctrinaire.
By the Christmas Fire|Samuel McChord Crothers
The Doctrinaire can never realize the fatal nature of the "too-much."
By the Christmas Fire|Samuel McChord Crothers
None the less, all attempts to win the working men from the doctrinaire Socialists failed.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 8|Various
The strength of the new party was frittered away in doctrinaire factional strife between the single taxers and the socialists.
A History of Trade Unionism in the United States|Selig Perlman

British Dictionary definitions for doctrinaire

doctrinaire

/ (ˌdɒktrɪˈnɛə) /

adjective

stubbornly insistent on the observation of the niceties of a theory, esp without regard to practicality, suitability, etc

theoretical; impractical

noun

a person who stubbornly attempts to apply a theory without regard to practical difficulties

Derived forms of doctrinaire

doctrinairism or doctrinarism, noundoctrinarian, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

doctrinaire

OTHER WORDS FOR doctrinaire

OPPOSITES FOR doctrinaire

Origin of doctrinaire

OTHER WORDS FROM doctrinaire

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH doctrinaire

Words nearby doctrinaire

Words related to doctrinaire

How to use doctrinaire in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for doctrinaire

Derived forms of doctrinaire