doctrinaire
Americannoun
adjective
-
dogmatic about others' acceptance of one's ideas; fanatical.
a doctrinaire preacher.
- Synonyms:
- unyielding, inflexible, uncompromising, authoritarian
- Antonyms:
- flexible, reasonable
-
merely theoretical; impractical.
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of a doctrinaire.
adjective
-
stubbornly insistent on the observation of the niceties of a theory, esp without regard to practicality, suitability, etc
-
theoretical; impractical
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of doctrinaire
From French, dating back to 1810–20; see origin at doctrine, -aire
Explanation
You've doubtless met someone doctrinaire at some point. You know them by their complete unwillingness to accept any belief other than their own. If you're familiar with the noun "doctrine" — a formal idea or system of belief — you'll have no problem with the adjective doctrinaire. It's a just a way of describing a person or group of people who are set in their ways. Parents can start out doctrinaire, but children soon force them to be flexible in how they bring them up.
Vocabulary lists containing doctrinaire
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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English Words Derived from French, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Despite all evidence to the contrary, Marshall still believed,” in Mr. Dikötter’s words, that the Communists “were not doctrinaire ideologists, but merely rural reformers who could help shape a democratic China.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
"The modernism that was around before the 1980s was very grey, restrictive, utilitarian and quite doctrinaire really," Farrell said.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2025
His harping on this point could come across as doctrinaire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2025
I’ve just spent a week tramping across Venice, a city of more than 250 churches, and where did I encounter the most doctrinaire catechism?
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2024
As to the fusion of trigonometry and plane geometry little need be said, because the subject is in the doctrinaire stage.
From The Teaching of Geometry by David Eugene Smith
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
