doctrinaire

[ dok-truh-nair ]

noun

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

adjective

1. dogmatic about others' acceptance of one's ideas; fanatical:

   a doctrinaire preacher.

   Synonyms: unyielding, inflexible, uncompromising, authoritarian

   Antonyms: flexible, reasonable

2. merely theoretical; impractical.
3. of, relating to, or characteristic of a doctrinaire.

doctrinaire

/ ˌdɒktrɪˈnɛə /

adjective

1. stubbornly insistent on the observation of the niceties of a theory, esp without regard to practicality, suitability, etc
2. theoretical; impractical

noun

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

Derived Forms

• ˌdoctriˈnairism, noun
• ˌdoctriˈnarian, noun

Other Words From

• doctri·nairism noun
• nondoc·tri·naire adjective
• over·doctri·naire adjective
• un·doctri·naire adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of doctrinaire¹

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

Example Sentences

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.

From 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.

From Nautilus

But he also prides himself on not being doctrinaire in his beliefs.

From The Daily Beast

Bachmann is so doctrinaire she seems unlikely to be a serious contender in the general election.

From The Daily Beast

In this selective narrative, the only path to truth is doctrinaire conservatism.

From The Daily Beast

This was a watershed between doctrinaire aggression and physical aggression.

From The Daily Beast

Governance has even led him to moderate some of his more doctrinaire conservative views, he said.

From The Daily Beast

To these, as a "forward" party, the doctrinaire theorists have allied themselves.

From Project Gutenberg

If his mind did not naturally work that way he would not be a Doctrinaire.

From Project Gutenberg

The Doctrinaire can never realize the fatal nature of the "too-much."

From Project Gutenberg

None the less, all attempts to win the working men from the doctrinaire Socialists failed.

From Project Gutenberg

The strength of the new party was frittered away in doctrinaire factional strife between the single taxers and the socialists.

From Project Gutenberg