doctrinaire

American  

[dok-truh-nair] / ˈdɒk trəˈnɛər /

noun

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

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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 British  

/ ˌdɒktrɪˈnɛə /

adjective

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

2. theoretical; impractical

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noun

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

Other Word Forms

• doctrinairism noun
• doctrinarian noun
• nondoctrinaire adjective
• overdoctrinaire adjective
• undoctrinaire adjective

Etymology

Origin of doctrinaire

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

Example Sentences

A fun game to play is to ask your most politically doctrinaire friends if there’s a policy they secretly support that cuts against their usual views.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025

"The modernism that was around before the 1980s was very grey, restrictive, utilitarian and quite doctrinaire really," Farrell said.

From BBC • Sep. 29, 2025

An interesting viewpoint, and one we have also heard from officials of a more recent administration: Obeying the law is doctrinaire?

From Salon • Dec. 10, 2023

But, ever curious, Lidholm didn’t stay a doctrinaire serialist for long, and the 18-minute “Poesis” is an exploration of elemental sound and stark drama without reliance on stylistic rules.

From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2023

Newman writes: ‘It is not open to the objections I feared; it is doctrinaire, and I think self-confident, but it will do good.’

From The Real Gladstone an Anecdotal Biography by Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)