doctrine

American  

[dok-trin] / ˈdɒk trɪn /

noun

• doctrines
  plural

1. 

   a particular principle, position, or policy taught or advocated, as of a religion or government.

   Catholic doctrines;

   the Monroe Doctrine.

   Synonyms:

   belief, precept, theory, dogma, tenet

2. something that is taught; teachings collectively.

   religious doctrine.

3. a body or system of teachings relating to a particular subject.

   the doctrine of the Catholic Church.

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doctrine British  

/ ˈdɒktrɪn /

noun

1. a creed or body of teachings of a religious, political, or philosophical group presented for acceptance or belief; dogma

2. a principle or body of principles that is taught or advocated

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• doctrinality
  noun
• doctrinism
  noun
• doctrinist
  noun
• self-doctrine
  noun
• doctrinal
  adjective
• doctrinally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• doctrines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of doctrine

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin doctrīna “teaching,” from doct(o)r doctor + -īna -ine ²

Explanation

A doctrine is a set of beliefs. The word comes from the Latin doctor for “teacher,” so think of a doctrine is the teachings of a school, religion, or political group. The Monroe Doctrine is the policy that President Monroe introduced in 1823 to limit European influence in the Americas. It has been a major part of U.S. foreign policy, but was revamped in 2013 by Secretary of State John Kerry in the Kerry Doctrine. Doctrine and doctor derive from the same Latin word, docere, which means "to teach": doctor means "teacher," and doctrina means "teaching, learning."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

doctrine doctrines

There are some hard questions in the doctrine, but this case doesn’t raise them.

From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026

"Constraining LLM development under a misunderstanding of fair use doctrine would thwart such creative and scientific progress while hindering American prosperity and economic mobility," the document read.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Fair use is a doctrine that allows for copyright material to be used without permission in certain circumstances.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Confirmation is meant to bring recipients closer to God and “imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark,” according to the Vatican’s official guide to its doctrine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

This led to the doctrine of preformationism: the adult existed fully formed within the egg.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Circuit was the one that was really making tons of law around these areas, tons of doctrines and administrative law to guide the agencies without blocking them.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

In the two decades since, Purcell has become one of election law’s most invoked doctrines.

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

New technologies are upending military doctrines on everything from procurement to executing operations, writes Yaroslav Trofimov.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Florian Galleri, a historian specialising in contemporary military studies and nuclear doctrines, also warned that Macron would have to tread carefully, pointing to his low approval ratings one year before the end of his presidency.

From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026

These two doctrines existed in uneasy harmony, although I did not then see them as antagonistic.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• attitude
• axiom
• belief
• concept
• creed
• dogma
• precept
• proposition
• regulation
• rule
• statement
• teaching
• tenet
• tradition